ovary

O1V4A1R1Y4
UK/ˈəʊvəɹi/US/ˈoʊvəɹi/

noun

A female reproductive organ, often paired, that produces ova in most animals, and in mammals, secretes the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

“The male testicles are homologous to the female ovaries.”

Similar
ovarium
OriginNew Latin ovarium ← Medieval Latin ovaria ← Latin ovum →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounovary (plural ovaries)

plural ovaries

  1. anatomyA female reproductive organ, often paired, that produces ova in most animals, and in mammals, secretes the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

    The male testicles are homologous to the female ovaries.

  2. biologyThe lower part of a pistil or carpel that bears ovules and ripens into fruit.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
ovarium
Broader
internal genitalia
Also see
oophoron

Origin

  1. Latinovum“egg”
  2. Medieval Latinovaria“bird ovary”
  3. New Latinovarium
  4. Englishovary

From New Latin ovarium, from Medieval Latin ovaria (“bird ovary”), from Latin ovum (“egg”). Doublet of ovarium.

More words from New Latin, Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مِبْيَض, مَبِيض
  • مِبْيَض (mibyaḍ)female organ
  • مَبِيض (mabīḍ)female organ
Basque obulutegi
  • obulutegifemale organ
Bengali ডিম্বাশয়
  • ডিম্বাশয় (ḍimbaśoẏ)female organ
Bulgarian я́йчник
  • я́йчник (jájčnik)female organ
Catalan ovari, ovari
  • ovarifemale organ
  • ovaribotanical organ
Chinese Cantonese 卵巢
  • 卵巢 (leon² caau⁴)female organ
Chinese Mandarin 卵巢, 子房
  • 卵巢 (luǎncháo)female organ
  • 子房 (zǐfáng)botanical organ
Czech vaječník, semeník
  • vaječníkfemale organ
  • semeníkbotanical organ
Danish æggestok
  • æggestokfemale organ
Dutch eierstok, ovarium
  • eierstokfemale organ
  • ovariumfemale organ
  • vruchtbeginselfemale organ
Esperanto ovario, ovujo
  • ovariofemale organ
  • ovujofemale organ
Estonian munasari
  • munasarifemale organ
Finnish munasarja, sikiäin
  • munasarjafemale organ
  • sikiäinbotanical organ
French ovaire, ovaire
  • ovairefemale organ
  • ovairebotanical organ
German Eierstock, Ovar
  • Eierstockfemale organ
  • Ovarfemale organ
  • Ovariumfemale organ
  • Fruchtknotenbotanical organ
  • Ovarbotanical organ
  • Ovariumbotanical organ
Greek ωοθήκη, ωοθήκη
  • ωοθήκη (oothíki)female organ
  • ωοθήκη (oothíki)botanical organ
Hebrew שַׁחֲלָה
  • שַׁחֲלָה (shakhala)female organ
Hindi डिम्बग्रंथि, अंडाशय
  • डिम्बग्रंथि (ḍimbagranthi)female organ
  • अंडाशय (aṇḍāśay)female organ
Hungarian petefészek, magház
  • petefészekfemale organ
  • magházbotanical organ
Icelandic eggjastokkur
  • eggjastokkurfemale organ
Indonesian ovarium
  • ovariumfemale organ
Irish ubhagán, síollann
  • ubhagánfemale organ
  • síollannfemale organ
Italian ovaia, ovaio
  • ovaiafemale organ
  • ovaiofemale organ
  • ovariofemale organ
  • ovariobotanical organ
Japanese 卵巣, 子房
  • 卵巣 (ransō)female organ
  • 子房 (shibō)botanical organ
Korean 난소
  • 난소 (nanso)female organ
Latvian olnīca, sēklotne
  • olnīcafemale organ
  • sēklotnebotanical organ
Lithuanian kiauši̇̀dė
  • kiauši̇̀dėfemale organ
Malay اوۏاري
  • اوۏاري (ovari)female organ
Māori wharekano, wharekano
  • wharekanofemale organ
  • wharekanobotanical organ
Norwegian Bokmål eggstokk
  • eggstokkfemale organ
Persian تخمدان
  • تخمدان (toxm-dân)female organ
Polish jajnik, zalążnia
  • jajnikfemale organ
  • zalążniabotanical organ
Portuguese ovário, ovário
  • ováriofemale organ
  • ováriobotanical organ
Romanian ovar, ovar
  • ovarfemale organ
  • ovarbotanical organ
Russian яи́чник, за́вязь
  • яи́чник (jaíčnik)female organ
  • за́вязь (závjazʹ)botanical organ
Scottish Gaelic ughag, ughlann
  • ughagfemale organ
  • ughlannfemale organ
  • uigheaganfemale organ
  • ughlannbotanical organ
  • ughagbotanical organ
Slovak vaječník
  • vaječníkfemale organ
Spanish ovario, ovario
  • ovariofemale organ
  • ovariobotanical organ
Swahili ovari
  • ovarifemale organ
Swedish äggstock, fruktämne
  • äggstockfemale organ
  • fruktämnebotanical organ
Tagalog bahay-itlog, obaryo
  • bahay-itlogfemale organ
  • obaryofemale organ
  • itluganfemale organ
Tamil சூலகம்
  • சூலகம் (cūlakam)female organ
Thai รังไข่, รังไข่
  • รังไข่ (rang-kài)female organ
  • รังไข่ (rang-kài)botanical organ
Turkish yumurtalık
  • yumurtalıkfemale organ
Ukrainian яє́чник
  • яє́чник (jajéčnyk)female organ
Vietnamese buồng trứng
  • buồng trứngfemale organ
Welsh ofari, wyfa
  • ofarifemale organ
  • wyfafemale organ
  • wyfabotanical organ
  • ofaribotanical organ

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Avory
Cite this entry
APA

ovary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ovary

MLA

“ovary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ovary. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ovary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ovary.

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