ovate

American  

[oh-veyt] / ˈoʊ veɪt /

adjective

1. egg-shaped.

2. Botany.

   1. having a shape like the longitudinal section of an egg.

   2. having such a shape with the broader end at the base, as a leaf.

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ovate British  

/ ˈəʊveɪt /

adjective

1. shaped like an egg

2. (esp of a leaf) shaped like the longitudinal section of an egg, with the broader end at the base Compare obovate

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Other Word Forms

• semiovate
  adjective
• subovate
  adjective
• ovately
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ovate

1750–60; < Latin ōvātus, equivalent to ōv ( um ) egg ¹ + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The Yankton Sioux Tribe voted Friday to ban Noem from their land in southeastern South Dakota just a few days after the Sisseton-Wahpeton Ovate tribe took the same action.

From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024

Ovate, evenly curved, with a broad, rounded base.

From Trees of the Northern United States Their Study, Description and Determination by Apgar, A. C. (Austin Craig)

Ovate, ō′vāt, n. an Eisteddfodic graduate who is neither a bard nor a druid.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Ovate and elliptical; length in the larger globules, twice the width; range, from 1-800 to 1-2,400; general size, 1-1,400.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

Leaves: Ovate to lanceolate, tapering at both ends or wedge-shaped, often yellowish green, entire or sparingly wavy-toothed.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje