from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Oval \O"val\, a. [F. ovale, fr. L. ovum egg. Cf. {Egg}, {Ovum}.]
1. Of or pertaining to eggs; done in the egg, or inception;
as, oval conceptions. [Obs.]
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2. Having the figure of an egg; oblong and curvilinear, with
one end broader than the other, or with both ends of about
the same breadth; in popular usage, elliptical.
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3. (Bot.) Broadly elliptical.
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{Oval chuck} (Mech.), a lathe chuck so constructed that work
attached to it, and cut by the turning tool in the usual
manner, becomes of an oval form.
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