ovum
UK[ˈəʊvəm]US[ˈoʊvəm]
n
The female reproductive cell of an animal; an egg cell.
Morpheme Breakdown
ov
um
ov
egg
um
noun suffix
Etymology
The word 'ovum' is a direct borrowing from Latin, where it simply meant 'egg'. The Latin term itself is traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root h₂ōwyóm, also meaning 'egg'. This root is the source for related words across Indo-European languages, such as 'egg' in English (via Old Norse), 'ōon' in Greek, and 'aṇḍa' in Sanskrit. In modern English, 'ovum' is specifically used in biological and medical contexts to denote the mature female gamete, maintaining the core semantic link to its ancient source while specializing in scientific terminology.
Analysis
Structure: ov (egg) + um (noun suffix)
'ov' is from Latin 'ovum', meaning 'egg'. '-um' is a Latin neuter noun ending.
Examples
The ovum is fertilized by a sperm cell to form a zygote.
Human females are born with a finite number of ova.
The size of an ovum varies greatly among different species.