ovate meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

ovate

adj

UK /ˈəʊ.veɪt/ · US /ˈoʊ.veɪt/

Etymology Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Shaped like an egg.

The Geese, Anserinæ, have the body ovate, the head small, the bill stout and somewhat conical; the legs rather long; the wings of great length and breadth.1852, William Macgillivray, A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory, page 573:

Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Of leaves With the broadest extremity near the base.

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Archaeology, History, Human sciences, Sciences An egg-shaped hand axe.

Slightly derived handaxes from the Mildenhall glaciofluvial sands, generally in fresh condition and dominated by ovates and cordates.2012, Paul Pettitt, Mark White, The British Palaeolithic, page 122:

verb

Etymology Borrowed from Latin ovātus, perfect passive participle of ovō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Rare To give someone an ovation.

Rare To applaud enthusiastically.

noun

Etymology Ultimately from a Celtic language, see Proto-Celtic *wātis.

An Irish bard.

A member at a certain grade of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-druidism order based in England.

A modern-day bard of a gorsedd, especially one acknowledged at an eisteddfod.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.