Lagophthalmia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical condition that involves the inability to entirely close the eyelids, which can result in exposure-related complications
2. This refers to the inability of eyelids to close completely, potentially causing issues with eye protection
3. A condition where the eyelids cannot close completely, leading to exposure of the eye surface

Etymology: Lagophthalmia is a medical term, and its parts are plain Greek. "Lagos" means "hare" and "ophthalmos" means "eye," so the word literally means "hare's eye." The image comes from the old belief that hares sleep with their eyes open, a notion that goes back to Greek writers and was popular enough to be repeated for centuries in natural history. The word itself is a learned coinage, not an ancient one. Physicians in the 18th and 19th centuries built many such terms from classical Greek roots to name specific conditions, and this one describes a condition in which the eyelids cannot close fully, leaving part of the eye exposed. Ancient Greek doctors had no such word, though they knew the problem existed.