Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An opaque spot on the cornea.
  • noun The macula lutea.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A spot; a blotch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A spot, as on the skin, or on the surface of the sun or of some other luminous orb; called also macule.
  • noun (Zoöl.) A rather large spot or blotch of color.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy An oval yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye, histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells, responsible for detailed central vision.
  • noun A spot, as on the skin, or on the surface of the sun or of some other luminous orb.
  • noun A rather large spot or blotch of color.
  • noun In planetary geology, an unusually dark area on the surface of a planet or moon.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small yellowish central area of the retina that is rich in cones and that mediates clear detailed vision
  • noun a patch of skin that is discolored but not usually elevated; caused by various diseases
  • noun a cooler darker spot appearing periodically on the sun's photosphere; associated with a strong magnetic field

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin macula ("spot, stain").

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Examples

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • Yellow and orange foods helps the eye (vision) the retinal macula is yellowish/orange in color so this helps Macular Degeneration, blues and red food helps the heart and circulatory conditions.

    The wonderful world of Soy! 2008

  • And right in the middle of that, the highest priced real estate, is actually something known as the macula, which is the very back of the eye.

    CNN Transcript Aug 14, 2007 2007

  • The disease strikes the center of the retina, called the macula, which is especially important for reading, watching television, and recognizing faces.

    Technology Review RSS Feeds 2009

Comments

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  • *small spot on skin - in physiology, a small pigmented spot on the skin that is neither raised nor depressed

    *yellow spot near the retina - in ophthalmology,

    a small yellowish spot in the middle of the retina that provides the greatest visual acuity and color

    *astronomy - same as sunspot

    October 31, 2007

  • (see also maculae)

    October 11, 2008