blindness
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CG: n

S: NYT – https://nyti.ms/2CGW66s (last access: 17 November 2018); WHO – https://bit.ly/2RXEewo (last access: 17 November 2018).

N: N: 1. Old English blindnysse, blendes, from blind + –ness. Figurative sense was in Old English.

2. Lack or loss of ability to see; lack of perception of visual stimuli, due to disorder of the organs of sight, or to lesions in certain areas of the brain.

3. The International Classification of Diseases 11 (2018) considers blindness the vision impairment presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60. If the visual acuity is better than this value, it is considered vision impairment which can be mild, moderate or severe.

4. Transient or permanent inability to see any light at all (total blindness) or to retain any useful vision despite attempts at vision enhancement (functional blindness). Less-severe levels of vision impairment have been categorized, ranging from near-normal vision to various degrees of low vision to near-blindness, depending on the visual acuity and functional impact stemming from the vision loss. Legal blindness is a government-defined term that determines eligibility for various services or benefits as well as restrictions on certain activities such as driving.

5. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention some novels and films, among others.

  • The Light That Failed written (1891) written by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).
  • The Country of the Blind (1901) by H. G. Wells (1866-1946).
  • The Hanging Tree (1959), directed by Delmer Daves (1904-1977).
  • Blindness (2008), directed by Fernando Meirelles (1955-).
  • Julia’s Eyes (2010), directed by Guillem Morales (1975-).

S: 1. Etymonline – https://bit.ly/2BcsekQ (last access: 17 November 2018). 2. GDT – https://bit.ly/2PzqZ8g (last access: 17 November 2018). 3. WHO – https://bit.ly/2lrcNfV (last access: 15 November 2018). 4. EncBrit – https://bit.ly/2FsJ57m (last access: 17 November 2018). 5. GR – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2496947.The_Light_That_Failed, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8518400-the-country-of-the-blind (last access: 17 November 2024); IMDb – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052876/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861689/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512685/ (last access: 17 November 2024).

SYN: amaurosis, ablepsia, ablepsy. (depending on context)

S: TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/2ONgpoR (last access: 17 November 2018)

CR: achromatopsia, amaurosis, amblyopia, diplopia, mercury, Minamata disease, nyctalopia, ophthalmology, stye, xerophthalmia.