OVUM - 8 definitions found
ovum n 1: the female reproductive cell; the female gamete [syn: ovum, egg cell] ovum (pl. ova), 1706, from L. ovum "egg," from PIE base *owo-. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) ovum noun (plural ova) Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, egg — more at egg Date: circa 1706 a female gamete ; macrogamete — called also egg cell Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary ovum (ova) An ovum is one of the eggs of a woman or female animal. (TECHNICAL) N-COUNT English Explanatory Dictionary ovum ˈəuvəm n. (pl. ova) 1 a mature reproductive cell of female animals, produced by the ovary. 2 the egg cell of plants. [L, = egg] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Ovum \O"vum\, n.; pl. L. Ova, E. Ovums. [L., an egg. See Oval.] 1. (Biol.) A more or less spherical and transparent mass of granular protoplasm, which by a process of multiplication and growth develops into a mass of cells, constituting a new individual like the parent; an egg, spore, germ, or germ cell. See Illust. of Mycropyle. Note: The ovum is a typical cell, with a cell wall, cell substance, nucleus, and nucleolus. In man and the higher animals the cell wall, a vertically striated membrane, is called the zona pellucida; the cell contents, the vitellus; the nucleus, the germinal vesicle; and the nucleolus, the germinal spot. The diameter of the ripe ovum in man and the domestic animals varies between 1-200 and 1-120 of an inch. 2. (Arch.) One of the series of egg-shaped ornaments into which the ovolo is often carved. --Gwilt. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms ovum n. [ |
| |||||||||||
