saccade

[ sa-kahd, suh- ]

noun

1. the act of checking a horse quickly with a single strong pull of the reins.
2. Ophthalmology. the series of small, jerky movements of the eyes when changing focus from one point to another.

saccade

/ səˈkɑːd; -ˈkeɪd /

noun

1. the movement of the eye when it makes a sudden change of fixation, as in reading
2. a sudden check given to a horse

Word History and Origins

Origin of saccade¹

1720–30; < French saccade jerk, jolt, originally, movement of a horseman who abruptly pulls the reins, equivalent to Middle French saqu ( er ) to pull violently (N dialectal variant of Old French sachier, ultimately derivative of sac sack ¹, hence presumably with sense “withdraw from a sack”) + -ade -ade ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of saccade¹

C18: from French: a jerk on the reins of a horse

Example Sentences

The team created a computer simulation based on the distribution of saccade lengths.

From Science News For Students

The team created a simulation that incorporated the distribution of lengths of those saccades, combined that with basic details of the night sky as seen from Earth — namely the apparent distances between neighboring stars and their brightnesses.

From Science News

Toute la salle trépignait et le rire durait, repartant par saccade devant la mimique variée d'Arsay.

From Project Gutenberg