Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ovum
‖
1.
(Biol.)
A more or less spherical and transparent cell, 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
. ☞ 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.