ocellatedadj.
/ˈɒsᵻleɪtᵻd/, /əʊˈsɛleɪtᵻd/, U.S. /ˈɑsəˌleɪdᵻd/, /ˈoʊsəˌleɪdᵻd/, /oʊˈsɛlˌeɪdᵻd/ Chiefly Zoology.
1. Marked with an ocellus or ocelli; having eyespots. Cf. ocellus n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > spot of colour > [adjective] > having eye-shaped spots
eyespotted1590
eyed1591
starry-eyed?1594
ocellated1713
bird's-eyed1737
ocellate1825
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. viii. vi. 416 A very beautiful reddish ocellated [butterfly] lays it's..black Offspring..on the Leaves of Nettles.
1803 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. 165 (heading) Ocellated blenny.
1865 Atlantic Monthly Aug. 131/2 The lovely little aërial butterfly with its ocellated wings may be found all ready for flight.
1966 A. D. Blest in H. Kalmus Regulation & Control Living Syst. xiv. 287 Ocellated species of Automeris.
1997 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 264 1521/2 Pavo and Argusianus both possess ocellated feathers.
2. Resembling a small eye; spec. designating a small round spot surrounded by a ring of a different colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [adjective] > circular > like an eye
ocellated1802
oculiform1824
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. 439 The Argus Snake..is beautifully marked from head to tail by numerous transverse rows of round ocellated red spots.
1850 Littell's Living Age 21 Sept. 553/2 Three distinct bands of grayish-white, brown, and black, mark the back and wings, the marks taking an ocellated form, especially on the tips of the secondaries.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 266 Digitalis purpurea..corolla..purple, speckled with ocellated spots.
1939 W. C. White Tomb Tile Pictures Anc. China xiii. 53 All seem to have peacock influence, particularly indicated by the very elongated ‘tail’ feathers, and the representation of ocellated or eye-like markings characteristic of that bird.
1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes 169 The other fins are hyaline, the dorsal with a large black ocellated spot, the caudal with five dark horizontal bands and the tips of the lobes black.
Compounds
ocellated lizard n. [after scientific Latin Lacerta ocellata (1775); compare French lézard ocellé (1801–2)] a long-tailed green lizard, Lacerta lepida (family Lacertidae), of southern Europe and north-west Africa, juveniles of which are marked with black-centred eyespots and adults often with large blue spots on the flanks.
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1859 S. G. Goodrich Illustr. Nat. Hist. Animal Kingdom II. 377 The Ocellated Lizard, L. ocellata, is a very beautiful species, a foot in length, of a fine green color, reticulated and spotted with black, and adorned with blue spots on the side of the body.
1933 Discovery Apr. 123/1 Among reptiles we have good examples [of eye-spots] in the cobra's spectacles and the blue rings on the flanks of the ocellated lizard.
1996 Conservation Biol. 10 883/2 Ocellated lizards also leave fragments of eggshell and may partially predate the nest.
ocellated turkey n. [after scientific Latin Meleagris ocellata (Cuvier: see quot. 1840)] a small wild turkey of Central America, Meleagris (or Agriocharis) ocellata, having prominent blue-centred eyespots on its tail.
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1840 E. Blyth et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom 226 A second [species of turkey], however, has been recently described, the Ocellated Turkey (M. ocellata, Cuv.), which approximates the Peafowl in the splendour of its colours, and by the disks of sapphirine-blue inclosed by circles of gold and ruby-red, which adorn the tail-coverts.
1961 V. W. Von Hagen Anc. Sun Kingdoms Amer. 238 Fowl was varied and many. Foremost was the wild ocellated turkey, famed for its gamy flavor.
1992 Atlantic Feb. 99/1 Ocellated turkeys move among the cabanas of the lodge in early morning and at twilight, foraging the lawns and drumming.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1713