Astigmatism?
Oct 20th, 2008 by Micah Tillman | 4 Comments |
In Yahoo! Mail recently there has been a repeating advert for Acuvue contact lenses “for astigmatism.”
I find the word “astigmatism” almost as annoying as the most annoying word that annoys me.
Astigmatism? Which stigmatism? How do I know if I have the stigmatism that the contact lenses were made for?
Does anyone have the stigmatism? Perhaps some stigmatisms but not others?
The presumption of subsuming your own article as if it were a prefix is . . . so presumptive.
Take that, astigmatism. Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.
What about afebrile?
I love covert Monty Python references. It’s sort of like this international, secret, nerdy fraternity. ;)
To further the confusion:
(1.)stig·ma (plural stig·mas) n
1. sign of social unacceptability: the shame or disgrace attached to something regarded as socially unacceptable
2. botany plant part: the part of a flower’s female reproductive organ carpel that receives the male pollen grains.
It is generally located at the tip of a slender stalk-shaped projection style.
3. or (plural stig·ma·ta [stig m?t?, stígm?t?]) medicine mark on skin: a mark on the skin indicating a medical condition
4. zoology spot on butterflies: a colored mark or spot, often resembling an eye, found on some protozoans and invertebrates, especially butterflies and other lepidopterans
[Late 16th century. Via Latin < Greek , "mark on the skin" < stig- , stem of stizein "to prick"]
(2.) stig·ma·ta npl
marks resembling crucifixion wounds: marks on the hands and feet resembling the wounds from Jesus Christ’s crucifixion
medicine Plural of stigma (sense 3)
[Mid-17th century. < Greek , plural of stigma (see stigma )]
(3.) stig·mat·ic adj
1. socially unacceptable: socially unacceptable (formal)
2. optics Same as anastigmatic
n (plural stig·mat·ics)
Christianity somebody with stigmata: somebody affected with stigmata
[Late 16th century. < Latin stigmat- < Greek stigmat- , stem of stigma (see stigma)]
(4.) stig·ma·tism 1 n
1. properties of anastigmatic lens: the properties of an anastigmatic lens
2. condition of being anastigmatic: the condition in which the eye focuses properly
[Mid-19th century. Back-formation < astigmatism ]
(5.) stig·ma·tism 2 n
having stigmata: the condition of having stigmata
6.) an·as·tig·mat·ic adj
without astigmatism: describes a lens that is corrected for or free from astigmatism.
( 7.) a·stig·ma·tism n
1. cause of blurred vision: an unequal curving of one or more of the refractive surfaces of the eye, usually the cornea.
It prevents light rays lying in specific planes from coming to a focus on the retina, thus producing blurred vision.
2. optical lens defect: a defect in a lens or mirror that prevents light rays from meeting at a single point, producing an imperfect image
[Mid-19th century. < a3 + Greek stigmat- "point"]
-as·tig·mat·ic , adj
-as·tig·mat·i·cal·ly , adv
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
I hesitate to comment on this, since I suspect you know it already and are just being humorous, but astigmatism (as can be seen from the above comment) is Greek for “without point” (or “without mark or spot”). Greek used a- or an- as a prefix to mean “without.” As the definition above states, an astigmatism prevents light rays from meeting at a single point, hence “without point.” Like many people, I have an astigmatism in one of my eyes.