ab ovo usque ad mala

Latin

FWOTD – 8 September 2021

Etymology

Literally, “from the egg to the apples”, from the traditional foods that began and ended a Roman supper.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ab ˈoː.u̯oː ˈuːs.kʷe ad ˈmaː.la/, [äb ˈoːu̯oː ˈuːs̠kʷɛ äd̪ ˈmäːɫ̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ab ˈo.vo ˈus.kwe ad ˈma.la/, [äb ˈɔːvo ˈuskwe äd̪ ˈmäːlä]

Adverb

ab ōvō ūsque ad māla (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) from beginning to end; from soup to nuts
   • 1843, Friedrich H. C. Düsterdieck, Quae de Ignatianarum epistolarum authentia, page 31:

     Desperatam vero isti loco adhibet medicinam Meierus, cum quasi recentiora assumenta ejusmodi ampullas jubeat resecari; toti enim isti capiti brevior textus ita substratus est, ut ab ovo usque ad mala continua interpretatione amplificetur, atque congeries ista plane integra, quae quantaque sit, videatur.

     But Meier has resort to a desperate remedy there when he orders such blisters as these supposedly later interpolations to be lanced; for the shorter text is strewn throughout that chapter in such a way that from beginning to end it is developed by continuous interpretation, and whatever it may be and however much there is, its accumulation shall be seen to constitute one complete whole.