Definition of ovary

The word "ovary" comes from the Latin "ovum," meaning egg, and the suffix "-ary," which is a variant of the Greek suffix "-ario-, "-ary" or "-ory," which forms nouns indicating a place or receptacle. In the 17th century, the term "ovum" referred to the egg of an animal, and later, in the 18th century, it was applied to the female reproductive organ in which eggs develop. The term "ovary" was first used in the 1820s to refer to the part of the female reproductive system where ova or eggs develop. The word has since been used in the field of medicine and biology to describe the organ responsible for producing eggs in female animals, including humans. Today, the term "ovary" is widely used in scientific and medical contexts to refer to this important reproductive organ.