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o·va·ry (ōvə-rē)
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n. pl. o·va·ries
1.
a. One of the paired female reproductive organs that produce eggs and female sex hormones in humans and other vertebrates.
b. An analogous gland in an invertebrate animal, such as a flatworm or a mollusk.
2. Botany The ovule-bearing lower part of a pistil that ripens into a fruit.
[New Latin ōvārium, from Latin ōvum, egg; see awi- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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