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ovate

 - 3 dictionary results

o⋅vate

  [oh-veyt]
Use ovate in a Sentence
–adjective
1. egg-shaped.
2. Botany.
a. having a shape like the longitudinal section of an egg.
b. having such a shape with the broader end at the base, as a leaf.
Origin:
1750–60; < L ōvātus, equiv. to ōv(um) egg 1 + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
o⋅vate⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ovate
o·vate   (ō'vāt')   


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adj.  

  1. Shaped like an egg; oval.

  2. Botany Broad and rounded at the base and tapering toward the end: an ovate leaf.


[Latin ōvātus, from ōvum, egg; see awi- in Indo-European roots.]
o'vate'ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ovate  (n.)
1723, from assumed L. pl. Ovates, from Gk. Ouateis "soothsayers, prophets," mentioned by Strabo as a third order in the Gaulish hierarchy, from P.Celt. *vateis, pl. of *vatis, cognate with L. vatis, O.Ir. faith, Welsh ofydd. The modern word, and the artificial senses attached to it, are from the 18c. Celtic revival and the word appears first in Henry Rowlands.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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