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” Tinner Ojos de Lens” in Spanish, “Luchsaugen Habin“in German,”lynx eyeIn English. Expression used around the world To say “to have excellent eyesight”, “to have sharp eyes” or, figuratively, “to see clearly in the affairs or behavior of others.”
In Canada, someone who easily detects well-hidden errors can also be appointed, depending on Termium PlusThe Government of Canada’s Linguistic Terms and Data Bank. For example, a spelling error in a document or a miscalculation. However, this meaning is not found in dictionaries.
But the expression has nothing to do with the lynx, which has no exceptional vision. Her eyes are more sensitive to light than her own, which allows her to hunt at night, detecting movement easily, but also thanks to good hearing. for him Visual acuity is about 5 to 6 °C / °, almost the same as a cat’s acuity, and well below “normal” human visual acuity of 10/10. Thus, like a cat, a lynx will clearly see at a height of 5 meters what a man with normal vision can see at a distance of about 30 meters. In addition, cats do not see the color red.
In fact, the origin of the expression refers to us To a character from Greek mythologymember of the mission Argonautes. The latter boarded the Argo to find the Golden Fleece, at Colchis (the kingdom and then the region of present-day Georgia). Each of the Argonauts had a gift. ship captain, to forgetwas from seeing what was happening in heaven and in hell, through clouds and rocks, as well as at the bottom of the seas.
So the expression arose from the confusion of two Greek words: lunx (lynx) and Lunkeos (Lyncée). Over time, spelling and legends combined and “eye of Lynceus” became “eye of the lynx”. Confusion would have happened in the Middle Ages, reported in 2009 daily language blogthe scientist.
Rule
Although the lynx has good night vision, we owe it not to it the expression “eye of the lynx”, but to a sailor in Greek mythology.
Photo: Nicolaj / Zastavki
