Oval

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈəʊvəl/

Definitions

1. A rounded, elongated shape resembling a stretched circle or ellipse, wider at the center and tapering at both ends
2. A shape that is elongated and rounded, characterized by its symmetry around two axes and resembling an ellipse or a stretched circle
3. A geometric form that appears as an elongated circle, with a smooth continuous curve, typically wider in the middle and narrowing at the ends

Etymology: The word goes back to the Latin "ovum," meaning "egg." Latin speakers had the adjective "ovalis" for things shaped like an egg, and that form reached English as "oval" by the 1570s. The shape itself is the reason: an egg is round at one end and narrower at the other, so the term describes an outline that is longer than it is wide yet rounded at both ends, not a perfect ellipse. The Latin root is ancient. "Ovum" traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root, and Proto-Italic speakers developed the form that Latin inherited. The same root gives Italian "ovale" and French "ovale," which sound almost identical to English "oval" because all three borrowed the same Late Latin adjective, rather than inheriting it separately from one another.

Synonyms: elliptical, egg-shaped, round, curved

Antonyms: square, angular, rectangular