ovum

[ oh-vuhm ]
See synonyms for: ovumova on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural o·va [oh-vuh]. /ˈoʊ və/.
  1. Cell Biology.

    • the female reproductive cell or gamete of animals, which is capable of developing, usually only after fertilization, into a new individual.

    • the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.

  2. Architecture. an oval ornament, as in an egg-and-dart molding.

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Origin of ovum

1
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin ōvum egg1; cognate with Greek ōión

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How to use ovum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ovum

ovum

/ (ˈəʊvəm) /


nounplural ova (ˈəʊvə)
  1. an unfertilized female gamete; egg cell

Origin of ovum

1
from Latin: egg

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ovum

ovum

[ ōvəm ]


Plural ova
  1. The mature reproductive cell of female animals, produced in the ovaries. See more at egg.

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