Editing Pupil (section)

==Society and culture==
The pupil plays a role in [[Oculesics|eye contact]] and [[nonverbal communication]]. The voluntary or involuntary enlargement or [[Pupillary response|dilation of the pupils]] indicates cognitive [[arousal]], [[Interest (emotion)|interest]] in the subject of attention, and/or [[sexual arousal]]. On the other hand, when the pupil is voluntarily or involuntarily [[Miosis|contracted]], it could indicate  the opposite - disinterest or disgust. Exceptionally large or [[Mydriasis|dilated pupils]] are also perceived to be an attractive feature in body language.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tombs |first1=Selina |last2=Silverman |first2=Irwin |date=2004-07-01 |title=Pupillometry: A sexual selection approach |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513804000261 |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=221–228 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.05.001 |bibcode=2004EHumB..25..221T |issn=1090-5138}}</ref>

In a surprising number of unrelated languages, the [[etymology|etymological meaning]] of the term for pupil is "little person".<ref name="Brown2004" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Cecil H. |last2=Witkowski |first2=Stanley R. |date=1981 |title=Figurative Language in a Universalist Perspective |jstor=644304 |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=596–615|doi=10.1525/ae.1981.8.3.02a00110 }}</ref> This is true, for example, of the word ''pupil'' itself: this comes into English from Latin ''pūpilla'', which means "doll, girl", and is a diminutive form of ''pupa'', "girl". (The double meaning in Latin is preserved in English, where ''pupil'' means both "schoolchild" and "dark central portion of the eye within the iris".)<ref>"[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/154768 pupil, n.2.]", ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]] Online'', 3rd. edn (Oxford University Press, 2007).</ref> This may be because the reflection of one's image in the pupil is a minuscule version of one's self.<ref name="Brown2004">{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Donald E. |date=2004 |title=Human Universals, Human Nature & Human Culture |journal=Daedalus |volume=133 |issue=4 |page=49|doi=10.1162/0011526042365645 |jstor=20027944 |s2cid=8522764 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800-1600 BC) in ancient Mesopotamia, the expression "protective spirit of the eye" is attested, perhaps arising from the same phenomenon.

The English phrase ''[[apple of my eye]]'' arises from an [[Old English]] usage, in which the word ''apple'' meant not only the fruit but also the pupil or eyeball.<ref name=":0">[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/9678 apple, n.]", ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]] Online'', 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2008), § 6 B.</ref>