oocyte

O1O1C3Y4T1E1
UK/ˈəʊəsaɪt/US/ˈoʊəsaɪt/

noun

A cell that develops into an egg or ovum; a female gametocyte.

OriginLatin cyta ← Ancient Greek κῠ́τος (kŭ́tos) ← English oo- →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounoocyte (plural oocytes)

plural oocytes · alternative oöcyte

  1. biologyA cell that develops into an egg or ovum; a female gametocyte.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éwis
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm
  4. Proto-Hellenic*ōyyón
  5. Ancient Greekᾠόν (ōión)
  6. Ancient Greekᾠο- (ōio-)
  7. Englishoo-
  8. Ancient Greekκῠ́τος (kŭ́tos)
  9. Latincyta
  10. Englishoocyte

From oo- + -cyte.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan oòcit
  • oòcitcell that develops into egg or ovum
Chinese Mandarin 卵母細胞 /卵母细胞
  • 卵母細胞 /卵母细胞 (luǎnmǔxìbāo)cell that develops into egg or ovum
Dutch oöcyt
  • oöcytcell that develops into egg or ovum
Esperanto oocito, ovocito
  • oocitocell that develops into egg or ovum
  • ovocitocell that develops into egg or ovum
Finnish ovosyytti, oosyytti
  • ovosyytticell that develops into egg or ovum
  • oosyytticell that develops into egg or ovum
French ovocyte
  • ovocytecell that develops into egg or ovum
German Eizelle, Ei
  • Eizellecell that develops into egg or ovum
  • Eicell that develops into egg or ovum
  • Oozytcell that develops into egg or ovum
  • Oozytecell that develops into egg or ovum
Greek ωοκύτταρο
  • ωοκύτταρο (ookýttaro)cell that develops into egg or ovum
Icelandic eggfruma
  • eggfrumacell that develops into egg or ovum
Italian oocito, ovocito
  • oocitocell that develops into egg or ovum
  • ovocitocell that develops into egg or ovum
Japanese 卵母細胞
  • 卵母細胞 (ranbo saibō)cell that develops into egg or ovum
Polish oocyt
  • oocytcell that develops into egg or ovum
Portuguese oócito, ovócito
  • oócitocell that develops into egg or ovum
  • ovócitocell that develops into egg or ovum
Spanish oocito, ovocito
  • oocitocell that develops into egg or ovum
  • ovocitocell that develops into egg or ovum

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

coyote
Cite this entry
APA

oocyte. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oocyte

MLA

“oocyte.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oocyte. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oocyte,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oocyte.

Source: oocyte on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.