Ovalized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Shaped into an egg-like form with a rounded outline that is longer than it is wide
2. Reshaped so that something takes on the elongated, rounded contour of an oval
3. Having been deformed or formed into an oval, so that a circular outline becomes elliptical

Etymology: "Ovalized" is the past tense and past participle of "ovalize," which means to make something oval in shape. The verb is formed from "oval" plus the suffix "-ize," a common English ending that turns nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to cause to become." "Oval" itself comes from Latin "ovum," meaning "egg," so the verb literally means to give something an egg-like shape. Used in this way, the past forms describe an object or surface that has already been reshaped into an oval, such as a ring that has been ovalized by wear or a tube that has been pressed flat into an oval cross-section.

Synonyms: elongated, elliptical