Other forms: ovals
An oval is a circle that has been stretched: an egg seen from the side, a running track, the shape of face people call oval. The same word is the adjective, as in an oval table, an oval mirror, an oval badge.
In maths the exact stretched circle is an ellipse, while oval is the wider everyday word and takes in egg shapes that are fatter at one end. An oval has no corners and no straight edges, which is what separates it from the shape of a stadium. In Washington the Oval Office is the president's room, named for its curved walls. In Australia an oval is the sports ground itself, and in cricket the famous one is The Oval in London. Athletics tracks, cameo brooches and old picture frames are all built on the same outline.
1nounovalA shape like a stretched circle or an egg.
“She drew an oval and turned it into a face.”
synonyms: ellipse
2adjectiveshapedShaped like a stretched circle.
“The room had an oval window above the door.”
3nounaustralia(in Australia) a sports ground, especially for cricket or football.
“The whole town came down to the oval for the final.”
oval is a shape.
Also accepted in games: ellipse
From Latin ovalis, formed on ovum, an egg, and in English since the 1570s. French ovale and Dutch ovaal are the same word travelling by different roads. The shape is simply named after the egg.
Latin
ovalis
English, today
oval
Borrowed from Latin ovalis. From Latin ovalis, from ovum; cognate with French and Italian ovale, Dutch ovaal. From 1570.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Colors, Shapes & Numbers, Light & Shadow, Shapes & Lines