Exotropia

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛks.oʊˌtɹoʊpi.ə/

Definitions

1. A medical condition in which one or both eyes diverge outward, leading to possible double vision and reduced depth perception
2. This disorder features an outward turning of the eyes, resulting in misalignment that can affect coordination and visual clarity
3. A condition characterized by the outward deviation of one or both eyes, which can cause complications such as depth perception issues and double vision symptoms

Etymology: Exotropia is a medical coinage, not an ancient word. It is built from two Greek elements: "exo", meaning "outside" or "outward", and "-tropia", a suffix from "tropos", meaning "a turn". Together they describe an eye that turns outward, away from the nose. The Greek "tropos" is also the root of "trope" and "tropism", since both involve a turning or direction. The suffix "-tropia" appears in other medical terms for eye misalignment. Its sibling "esotropia" uses "eso-", meaning "inward", for an eye that turns toward the nose. Doctors pair the two to name the direction of a deviation, so the names themselves tell a clinician which way the eye has drifted.

Synonyms: divergent strabismus, outward turning, strabismus, eye misalignment, visual disorder