Căt'a-răct, n.
n. [Lat. cataracta, cataractes, Gr. κατ-αράκτης, καταρράκτης, from καταρρήγνυμι, to break down, pass. to fall or rush down, from κατά, down, and ῥήγνυμι, to break.]
Sense 1. A great fall of water over a precipice; a great cascade or waterfall.
The tremendous cataracts of America thundering in their solitudes. W. Irving.
Sense 2. (Surg.) An opacity of the crystalline lens, or of its capsule, by which the passage of the rays of light is prevented and sight is impaired or destroyed. Dunglison.
Sense 3. (Mech.) A kind of water-governor for regulating the action of an engine. Weale.