ab ovo

adverb

\ ab-ˈō-(ˌ)vō

How to pronounce ab ovo (audio)

\

Definition of ab ovo

: from the beginning

Get Poetic With Ab Ovo

Ab ovo usque ad mala. That phrase translates as "from the egg to the apples," and it was penned by the Roman poet Horace. He was alluding to the Roman tradition of starting a meal with eggs and finishing it with apples. Horace also applied ab ovo in an account of the Trojan War that begins with the mythical egg of Leda from which Helen (whose beauty sparked the war) was born. In both cases, Horace used ab ovo in its literal sense, "from the egg," but by the 16th century Sir Philip Sidney had adapted it to its modern English sense, "from the beginning": "If [the dramatic poets] wil represent an history, they must not (as Horace saith) beginne Ab ouo: but they must come to the principall poynt of that one action."

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about ab ovo

Listen to Our Podcast about ab ovo

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near ab ovo

ab ovo usque ad mala

Statistics for ab ovo

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for ab ovo

The first known use of ab ovo was in 1583

See more words from the same year

WORD OF THE DAY

resurrection

an act or instance of returning to life

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ