From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ovum \O"vum\ ([=o]"v[u^]m), n.; pl. L. {Ova} ([=o]"v[.a]), E.
{Ovums} ([=o]"v[u^]mz). [L., an egg. See {Oval}.]
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}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Arch.) One of the series of egg-shaped ornaments into
which the ovolo is often carved. --Gwilt.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ovum
n 1: the female reproductive cell; the female gamete [syn:
{ovum}, {egg cell}]
From Latin-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.1 [fd-lat-eng]:
ovum
egg
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