Word of the Day

: March 8, 2012

diplopia

noun dih-PLOH-pee-uh

What It Means

: a disorder of vision in which two images of a single object are seen because of unequal action of the eye muscles - called also double vision

diplopia in Context

Most cases of diplopia go away on their own, but in some instances it can be a sign of an aneurysm or other disorder in the brain.

"Every August thousands of twins converge there for 'Twins Days Festival' - so many in fact you might think you had an acute case of diplopia…." - From a Q&A in The Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts), November 12, 2011

Did You Know?

We won't give you any double-talk about "diplopia." The word is simply the sum of the combining forms "dipl-" (meaning "double") and "-opia" (meaning "vision"). Visionarily speaking, the linguistic relatives of "diplopia" include "hyperopia" ("farsightedness"), "myopia" ("nearsightedness"), "deuteranopia" ("red-green color blindness"), and "presbyopia" ("loss of elasticity in the eye's lens").