An
eyelash or simply
lash is one of the
hairs that grows at the edge of the
eyelid. Eyelashes protect the
eye from debris and perform some of the same function as
whiskers do on a
cat or a
mouse in the sense that they are sensitive to being touched, thus providing a warning that an object (such as an
insect or
dust mite) is near the eye (which then closes
reflexively).