ocellation
English
Etymology
From Latin ocellus (“little eye”), from oculus (“eye”) + -ation
Noun
ocellation (countable and uncountable, plural ocellations)
- (uncountable) The development of eye-like markings, such as those on the wing of a butterfly or tail of a peacock.
- 1993, Roger L. H. Dennis, Butterflies and Climate Change, →ISBN, page 131:
- In Pararge aegeria, increased dorsal hindwing ocellation (i.e., four spots) occurs in mid-summer (Parker, 1984; Shreeve, 1987).
- 1997, Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle, Loyola's Acts: The Rhetoric of the Self, →ISBN, page 111:
- This feature is the ocellation of the tail feathers of the male of the species, whose brilliant plumage earned its reputation since antiquity as the most beautiful of all birds.
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- (countable) An eye-like marking; ocellus.
- 2016, Michel Serres, The Five Senses: A Philosophy of Mingled Bodies, →ISBN:
- All that is left of the omnidirectional ball of intense eyes is the dual colour of the ocellations and the brilliant pattern they make, a fascinating, silky fan.
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