eyelid

Definition

A thin skin membrane that covers and moves over an eye.

Etymology

From Middle English eyelidd, eye-led, eiȝelid, eghe-lydd, yȝe-lydd, ehlid, yhelidd, from an unrecorded Old English *ēaghlid (“eyelid”), from Proto-West Germanic *augahlid (“eyelid”), equivalent to eye + lid. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oogenlid (“eyelid”), West Frisian eachlid (“eyelid”), Dutch ooglid (“eyelid”), German Low German Ooglidd (“eyelid”), German Augenlid (“eyelid”). Generally superseded non-native Middle English palpebre (“eyelid”), borrowed from Latin palpebra (“eyelid”) (see Modern English palpebra).

Example Sentences

• "By his neeſings a light doth ſhine, and his eyes are like the eye-liddes of the morning."
• "[…] the frightened or insane eyes of an animal, sometimes with eyelids closed in escapeful slumber."
• "Allergan, the company that turned an obscure muscle paralyzer for eyelid spasms, Botox, into a blockbuster wrinkle smoother, hopes to perform cosmetic alchemy yet again."

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