ovum

American  

[oh-vuhm] / ˈoʊ vəm /

noun

ova plural

1. Cell Biology.

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

   2. the female reproductive cell or gamete of plants.

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

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ovum British  

/ ˈəʊvəm /

noun

1. an unfertilized female gamete; egg cell

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ova
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ovum

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

Compare meaning

How does ovum compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• oocyte vs. ovum

Example Sentences

This year the figure will be about $1bn, and will almost double by 2022, according to Ovum.

From The Guardian • Mar. 30, 2019

"Vendors usually come from a crowdfunding background typically with very similar product functionality," says Rishi Kaul, a research analyst for consultancy Ovum.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2018

“Netflix’s exclusive shows are dominating people’s water cooler moments,” said Tony Gunnarsson, a senior analyst at Ovum, a technology research firm, in London.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2017

A study by the IT consultancy firm Ovum predicts that by 2019, mobile data, the same kind that ensnared Pliskin, will account for more than half of all global roaming revenue.

From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2016

The one from which my pictures were taken has the title Mala Gallina, malum Ovum, and was published at Vienna and Nuremburg.

From Notes and Queries, Number 192, July 2, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Various