# cataract

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkætəɹækt/ · frequency rank #29,957

## Definitions
1. A (large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff.
2. A flood of water; specifically, steep rapids in a river.
3. An overwhelming downpour or rush; a flood.
4. A type of governor used in single-acting steam engines, where a flow of water through an opening regulates the stroke.
5. Synonym of waterspout (“a whirlwind that forms over water”).

## Etymology
PIE word
 *ḱóm
The noun is derived from cataracts (noun (plural only)), from Late Middle English cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“floodgate of heaven”), from Old French cataracte (modern French cataracte), and from its etymon Latin cataracta (“floodgate; waterfall”), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”), from καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (katar(rh)ā́ssō, “to pour down; to rush downwards”) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being). Καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (Katar(rh)ā́ssō) is derived either:
* from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘downwards’) + ἀρᾰ́σσω (arắssō, “to dash to pieces; to strike”) (further etymology unknown, possibly onomatopoeic) or ῥᾱ́σσω (rhā́ssō, “to dash; to strike”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreh₂ǵʰ- (“to pound, strike”)); or
* from καταρρηγνύναι (katarrhēgnúnai, “to break down”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **cataracts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cataract-vs-cataracts)

## Common misspellings (12)
`actaract`, `caatract`, `cataarct`, `cataracct`, `cataractt`, `cataratc`, `catarcat`, `catarract`, `catraact`, `cattaract`, `ccataract`, `ctaaract`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cataract