ab ovo
[ap ˈoːvo]
The verdict
“ab ovo” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - von Anfang an
Corpus desk
Index DE-ab-ovo · ab ovo · German
ab ovo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ab ovo |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | [ap ˈoːvo] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „ab ovo“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
ab ovo is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ap ˈoːvo]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for ab ovo in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is ab ovo, spelled A-B- -O-V-O.
Definition
- 1von Anfang an
- 2von vornherein
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ab ovo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
„Diese CDU-Geschichte beginnt zwar ab ovo, endet aber 1982 mit der Erringung der Kanzlerschaft durch Helmut Kohl.“
„Wissen ist ab ovo Wissen von Sein, und Sein ist ab ovo gewusstes Sein.“
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.