vid-, video-, vis-, -vision, -visional, -visionally, visuo-, vu-

(Latin: videre, "to see"; plus words with other related meanings: to notice, noticing, noticed; observe, observing, observed; look, looking, looked; perceive, perceiving, perceived, perception; see, seeing, saw, seen, sight; view, viewing, viewed; manifest, manifesting, manifested; reveal, revealing, revealed, revelelation)

Although many of the words in this unit seem to be from other Latin origins, all of them are etymologically derived from the main Latin videre, "to see" element.

belvedere (s) (noun), belvederes (pl)
1. A building or part of a building positioned to offer a fine view of the surrounding area.
2. A roofed structure, especially a small pavilion or tower on top of a building, situated so as to view a wide area.
3. Etymology: "raised turret on top of a house", from Italian belvedere' literally, "a beautiful sight", from bel, bello, "beautiful" + vedere, "a view, a sight".
belvue (s) (noun), belvues (pl)
Beautiful view.
binocular vision (s) (noun), binocular visions (pl)
The simultaneous use of both eyes, resulting in seeing which incorporates images with depth perception.
blue vision (s) (noun), blue visions (pl)
A bluish discoloration of perceived objects or things that are seen.
central vision (s) (noun), central visions (pl)
1. The part of a field that is seen near an object at which the eye is directed or straight-ahead sight as opposed to peripheral seeing.
2. The physiological sense of sight by which the form, color, size, movements, and distances of objects are perceived: Central vision permits a person to read, to drive, or to perform other activities that require fine, sharp, straight-ahead viewing.

chromatic vision (s) (noun), chromatic visions (pl)
1. Color vision or the normal ability to see colors.
2. The perception and evaluation of the colors of the spectrum.
2. The ability to see or to perceive the color hues normally stimulated by the various parts fo the visible spectrum.
clairvoyance (s) (noun), clairvoyances (pl)
1. The supposed ability to view, or to look at, something that is normally over and above the possibilities of human awareness: Joseph claimed to have clairvoyance which consisted of acute perceptions and intuitive insights for people in their present existence and for the future.
2. Etymology: from French clairvoyant, "clear-sighted"; from voyant, present participle of voir, "see".
Having special perceptions.
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clairvoyant (s) (noun), clairvoyants (pl)
Someone who is said to be able to perceive, or to see, things that are usually beyond the range of human senses: As a clairvoyant, Eve surprised most of her customers with her ability to explain what would happen if they made certain decisions.
Someone who claims to be able to perceive beyond the normal range of vision.
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clairvoyant (adjective), more clairvoyant, most clairvoyant
1. A reference to or relating to the ability to see that which can't be normally perceived with the normal senses: Roy certainly had a clairvoyant ability to predict his sister's future with her husband because he said that she was going to have four children and sure enough, she had quadruplets!
2. Etymology: from Latin clarus, "clear" + voyant, videre, "to see".
Descriptive of someone who can see beyond normal perceptions.
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clairvoyantly (adverb), more clairvoyantly, most clairvoyantly
A reference to someone who is supposedly able to see beyond the range of ordinary physical perceptions: Abraham clairvoyantly predicted what would happen to everyone on a certain aircraft after it flew a distance from the airport.
computer vision syndrome, CVS (s) (noun), computer vision syndromes (pl)
1. A condition related to prolonged computer monitor use; such as, people who are viewing computer screens who tend to blink less and open their eyes more widely, all of which can result in dryness of the eyes, fatigue, burning, difficulty in focusing, headaches, etc.
2. CVS is caused by the decreased blinking reflex of the eyes while working long hours focusing on computer screens.

The normal blinking rate in human eyes is about 16–20 blinks per minute and recent studies have shown that the blinking rate decreases to as low as 6–8 blinks a minute for people who are working on computer screens for long periods and this can lead to an irritating condition called dry eyes.
3. A variety of problems related to prolonged viewing of a computer screen.

Short term effects include dry eyes, blurred vision, eye fatigue and excessive tearing.

Long term effects include migraines, cataracts, and visual epilepsy.

Some solutions include keeping reflections and glare to a minimum and to provide a non-fluorescent, uniform light source.

Special lamps are available that maintain the proper light around the monitor and generate light at much higher frequencies than regular light bulbs.

Glasses Can Correct Near and Far, but What About Those Screens in Between?

More people are showing up at eye appointments complaining of headaches, fatigue, blurred vision and neck pain—all symptoms of computer-vision syndrome (CVS), which affects about 90% of the people who have spent three hours or more a day at a computer, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

—Compiled from information located at
"Becoming a Squinter Nation" by Melinda Beck;
The Wall Street Journal; August 17, 2010.
deja vu, déjà vu (day" zhuh VOO) (s) (noun) (no plural)
1. A feeling of having experienced something before even though in fact it is the first time that it has been experienced: Stanley had an eerie sense of déjà vu when he went to visit an old castle in England because he felt that he had been there long ago even though he was from California and had never been to England before.
2. Boredom that results from something that has happened many times: There was a man who felt he had a permanent sense of déjà vu and he refused to watch TV or read a newspaper because he claimed to have seen everything before. When he went out walking he said the same birds sang in the same trees and the same cars drove past at the same time every day.
3. Etymology: from French déjà, "already" + vu, "seen"; from Latin videre, "to see".
dichromatic vision (s) (noun), dichromatic visions (pl)
A form of color vision in which only two special hues, or two of the three primary colors, can be seen.
diplopia (s) (noun), diplopias (pl)
A disorder characterized by double vision: Diplopia is a perception of two images when looking at an object, usually caused by temporary or permanent eye-muscle paralysis.

Normally, the brain fuses slightly different images from each eye by matching corresponding points on each retina; however, when an eye muscle is paralyzed, the image falls at a different point and the images do not correspond which causes diplopia

Diplopia may be an early symptom of botulism (acute poisoning) or myasthenia gravis (disease characterized by progressive fatigue and generalized weakness of the skeletal muscles) and occurs in other infections, head injuries, and nerve or muscle disorders.

direct vision (s) (noun), direct visions (pl)
The observation of an object on which the part of the retina of each eye distinguishes the fine details at the center of the field of vision that the eyes are focused on: Dr. Rebecca Bond, the ophthalmologist, determined that Joseph’s direct vision was normal because the image of the item he saw fell directly on the yellow spot, or macula lutea, of his eyes.

Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "appear, visible, visual, manifest, show, see, reveal, look": blep-; delo-; demonstra-; opt-; -orama; pare-; phanero-; phant-; pheno-; scopo-; spec-; vela-, veal-.