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oviparous

[ oh-vip-er-uhs ]

adjective

, Zoology.
  1. producing eggs that mature and hatch after being expelled from the body, as birds, most reptiles and fishes, and the monotremes.


oviparous

/ ˌəʊvɪˈpærɪtɪ; əʊˈvɪpərəs /

adjective

  1. (of fishes, reptiles, birds, etc) producing eggs that hatch outside the body of the mother Compare ovoviviparous viviparous
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


oviparous

/ ō-vĭpər-əs /

  1. Producing eggs that hatch outside the body. Amphibians, birds, and most insects, fish, and reptiles are oviparous.
  2. Compare ovoviviparous


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Derived Forms

  • oˈviparously, adverb
  • oviparity, noun
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Other Words From

  • o·vi·par·i·ty [oh-v, uh, -, par, -i-tee], o·vipa·rous·ness noun
  • o·vipa·rous·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of oviparous1

From the Latin word ōviparus, dating back to 1640–50. See ovi-, -parous
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Compare Meanings

How does oviparous compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

It is an oviparous animal, and its eggs scarcely exceed in size those of a goose.

The same kind of animal is then at one time of the year viviparous, and at another oviparous.

His purpose was the study of the wonderful Australian fauna, the oviparous mammals, marsupials, and ceratodus (lungfish).

Their nervous system also is not materially different, and they are both oviparous.

By far the larger portion of insects is oviparous in the ordinary acceptation of the term.

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oviparaoviposit