Added 9 October 2026
retina
/ˈɹɛt.ɪ.nə/ noun
Latin root: rētīna Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about retina at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- The innermost light-sensitive membrane covering the back wall of the eyeball; it is continuous with the optic nerve.
Origin
From Middle English rethina, borrowing from Medieval Latin rētīna (“retina”, feminine noun), ellipsis of tunica rētīna (“net-like tunic”), used to describe the blood vessel system at the back of the eye. The phrase is attested in the 12th century in Guillelmus the abbot and Gerard of Cremona—the latter may have created this phrase as a translation for Arabic طَبَقَة شَبَكِيَّة (ṭabaqa šabakiyya) "net-like layer", which translates Ancient Greek ἀμφιβληστροειδής χῐτών (amphiblēstroeidḗs khĭtṓn, “retina”), which is attested in the ancient medical writer Galen.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)