French word

ocelle

Pronunciation

IPA/osɛl/

Meaning

  • masculine nouneyespot

Example

Le papillon a des ocelles bien visibles.

The butterfly has clearly visible eyespots.

Illustration for ocelle (eyespot)

More examples

On dirait un ocelle dans le motif de ce tapis.

It looks like an eyespot in the pattern of this carpet.

Core concept

An eye-like spot with a darker center and surrounding rings, or a tiny simple eye in an invertebrate.

Similar words

œil: The body part used for seeing.
tache: A colored mark or stain on a surface.

Definition in French

Petite tache en forme d'œil, généralement disposée de manière concentrique et servant d'ornement sur des ailes ou des plumes, et désignant aussi un simple œil chez certains invertébrés.

Word origin

French ocelle comes from Latin ocellus, a diminutive of oculus meaning 'small eye', and acquired its biological senses through scientific usage.

Usage tips

  • Ocelle is masculine, so the article is un ocelle and the plural is des ocelles.

Other meanings

  • ocellusnoun

Word lists with this word