Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Cataract

Cataract , noun

[Latin cataracta, catarracles, a waterfall, Greek {not transcribed}, {not transcribed}, from {not transcribed} to break down; in the passive, to fall or rush down (of tumors) to burst; kata` down + {not transcribed} to break.]

1.
A great fall of water over a precipice; a large waterfall.
2.
(Surgery) An opacity of the crystalline lens, or of its capsule, which prevents the passage of the rays of light and impairs or destroys the sight.
3.
(Machinery) A kind of hydraulic brake for regulating the action of pumping engines and other machines; -- sometimes called dashpot.