ovum

C2+ Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈoʊvəm/ UK /ˈəʊvəm/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a mature female reproductive cell; an egg cell

Fertilization occurs when a sperm penetrates the ovum.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a mature female... eggegg celloocytegamete

Opposites

spermspermatozoon

Word family

Forms ovigerous

Derived forms ovular ovoid

Related forms ovary ovule oval

Etymology

From Latin ovum ('egg'), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm ('egg'), probably derived from *h₂ewi- ('bird').

ovum Latin *h₂ōwyóm Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

# ovum

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈoʊvəm
**IPA (UK):** ˈəʊvəm

## Meanings
1. a mature female reproductive cell; an egg cell

## Examples
- Fertilization occurs when a sperm penetrates the ovum.

## Synonyms
- egg
- egg cell
- oocyte
- gamete

## Antonyms
- sperm
- spermatozoon

## Derived Forms
- ovular
- ovoid

## Related Forms
- ovary
- ovule
- oval

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ovum
- Root: *h₂ōwyóm

## Etymology
From Latin ovum ('egg'), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm ('egg'), probably derived from *h₂ewi- ('bird').

## AI Etymology
Ovum comes from Latin ovum ('egg'), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm ('egg'), probably derived from *h₂ewi- ('bird'). The etymological trail includes Latin ovum and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. As a noun, ovum means a mature female reproductive cell; an egg cell. The same family is visible in derived forms such as ovular and ovoid and related forms such as ovary, ovule, and oval. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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