ab ovo
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of ab ovo
Literally, “from the egg”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Again, of the Paradise Lost: ‘It has the totality of the poem as distinguished from the ab ovo birth and parentage or straight line of history.’
From English Critical Essays Nineteenth Century by Jones, Edmund David
Too many memoirs begin with tradition; to trace a subject ab ovo seems to have a fatal attraction for the human mind.
From Maria Edgeworth by Zimmern, Helen
T. says it is no proof that Eels are bred in fresh water because they may be found in ponds having no connection with a river—the proof required is ab ovo.
From Essays in Natural History and Agriculture by Garnett, Thomas
Of plot Horace says little, only suggesting that the poet should not begin ab ovo but plunge at once into the midst of the action.
From Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance A Study of Rhetorical Terms in English Renaissance Literary Criticism by Clark, Donald Lemen
Those who desire to trace the career of Upper Canada College ab ovo, will be thankful for the following advertisements.
From Toronto of Old by Scadding, Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
