# oculus

Pronunciation: US say "OK-yuh-luhs" /ˈɑk.jə.ləs/; UK say "OK-yuu-luhs" /ˈɒk.jʊ.ləs/

## Noun

1. In architecture, a round or oval window or opening, such as one in a wall or at the top of a dome.
   - Simple: A round window or hole in a building, often at the top of a dome.
   - _A stained-glass oculus above the main entrance throws colored light across the floor every afternoon._
   - _The architects cut oculi of different sizes into the concrete stair tower, so the climb is dotted with circles of daylight._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The round boss at the center of a volute, the spiral scroll that decorates some column capitals.

## Origin

Latin oculus ("eye") was taken into English as a learned borrowing, and occhio is a doublet of the word.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/oculus (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).