Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Ovum?

\O"vum\, n.; pl. L. {Ova}, E. {Ovums}. [L., an egg. See {Oval}.] 1. (Biol.) A more or less spherical and transparent mass of granular protoplasm, which by a process of multiplication and growth develops into a mass of cells, constituting a new individual like the parent; an egg, spore, germ, or germ cell. See Illust. of {Mycropyle}. Note: The ovum is a typical cell, with a cell wall, cell substance, nucleus, and nucleolus. In man and the higher animals the cell wall, a vertically striated membrane, is called the zona pellucida; the cell contents, the vitellus; the nucleus, the germinal vesicle; and the nucleolus, the germinal spot. The diameter of the ripe ovum in man and the domestic animals varies between 1-200 and 1-120 of an inch. 2. (Arch.) One of the series of egg-shaped ornaments into which the ovolo is often carved. --Gwilt.