Definitions

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

  • noun The tough white fibrous outer envelope of tissue covering all of the eyeball except the cornea.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The sclerotic coat of the eyeball.
  • noun The test of the crustaceans, especially those parts of the test which separate the corneal lenses in aggregated schizochroal eyes.

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

  • noun anatomy The white of the eye. It is the tough outer coat of the eye that covers the eyeball except for the cornea.

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

  • noun the whitish fibrous membrane (albuginea) that with the cornea forms the outer covering and protection of the eyeball

Etymologies

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

[New Latin, from Greek, feminine of sklēros, hard.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklēros, "hard").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sclera.

Examples

  • The white portion of the eye is called the sclera; it is the outer covering of the eye.

    How to Speak Dog Stanley Coren 2000

  • First it forms, with the sclera, which is a protective physical barrier that shields the inner eye from the external environment.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2010

  • In January 2008, Londons The Sun found a practitioner of a new art form in which a design is inked, with a tattoo needle, into the sclera, which is the white part of the eyeball.

    Yes Weekly 2009

  • In January 2008, Londons The Sun found a practitioner of a new art form in which a design is inked, with a tattoo needle, into the sclera, which is the white part of the eyeball.

    Yes Weekly 2009

  • First it forms, with the sclera, which is a protective physical barrier that shields the inner eye from the external environment.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • • In January 2008, London's The Sun found a practitioner of a new art form in which a design is inked, with a tattoo needle, into the sclera, which is the white part of the eyeball.

    Artvoice - Buffalo's #1 Newsweekly Chuck Shepherd 2009

  • First it forms, with the sclera, which is a protective physical barrier that shields the inner eye from the external environment.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • Open eyelids -- the destiny (salvation, damnation, hell). upper lid is raised and the lower lid is drawn Theodicy deals with the problem of evil, down, often exposing the white sclera which is the difficulty of reconciling an above and below the iris.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • My mother made her meatloaf with hard boiled eggs inserted in the middle, so when you cut a slice, a yellow pupil and hard white sclera stared up from your plate.

    Idaho Mark Sutz 2011

  • My mother made her meatloaf with hard-boiled eggs inserted in the middle, so when you cut a slice a yellow pupil and hard white sclera stared up from your plate.

    Idaho Mark Sutz 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.