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oviposit

[oh-vuh-poz-it, oh-vuh-poz-]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to deposit or lay eggs, especially by means of an ovipositor.
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Origin of oviposit

1810–20; ovi- + -posit < Latin positus (see posit)
Related formso·vi·po·si·tion [oh-vuh-puh-zish-uh n] /ˌoʊ və pəˈzɪʃ ən/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for oviposition

Historical Examples

  • Oviposition was accomplished as described for Evania appendigaster.

    The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches

    Louis M. Roth

  • When the business of oviposition commences, they take the eggs from her, and deposit them in their nurseries.

  • The females feed on material that oozes through the oviposition puncture (Roth and Willis, 1954b).

  • At the time of oviposition the nematode eggs are in the very earliest stages of cleavage.

  • Wasp tended to choose a nearly horizontal position for oviposition.

British Dictionary definitions for oviposition

oviposit

verb
  1. (intr) (of insects and fishes) to deposit eggs through an ovipositor
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Derived Formsoviposition (ˌəʊvɪpəˈzɪʃən), noun

Word Origin

C19: ovi- + positus, past participle of Latin pōnere to place
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