ovum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈoː.wũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɔː.vum]^[1]

Forms

ōvum n (genitive ōvī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ōw(j)om, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōuiom (“egg”).^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión, “egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Old High German ei (“egg”) and English egg.^[2][3][4] Schindler reconstructed *ō-h₂wiom with a preposition *ō, which de Vaan doubts.^[2] Isidore derives it from ūvidus “moist”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius, who says that the winged race usually lays eggs.^[2][6][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It was an egg, and ōvum parere was to lay an egg.^[3][7] The proverb ab ōvō usque ad māla “from the egg to the apples”, from the first to the last course of a meal, meant from beginning to end.^[7] In the circus wooden eggs were used to count the laps, and it was also a measure, an eggshellful, and an oval space.^[3]

In British medieval Latin eggs were also paid as rent and used in paint.^[8] Modern Latin ōvālis gave English oval, and ovum was borrowed as a biological term in 1706.^[4] Vulgar Latin *ovum gave Italian uovo and Old French oef.^[1]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius says the feathered race lays eggs.^[3][6]
• 234–149 BC – Cato prescribes an egg for a sick ox.^[3][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses ōvum parere.^[7][6]
• 1706 – English ovum is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An egg, ab ōvō usque ad māla, from beginning to end.^[3][7]
2. A wooden egg for counting laps in the circus.^[3]
3. An eggshellful (as a measure).^[3]
4. An oval space.^[3]

Word family

• ōvārium
• ōvātus
• ōvicō
• ōviparus

Related words

• avis
• English oval
• English ovum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press