oval [M16th] When we say that something is oval, we are calling it ‘egg-shaped’. The word goes back to Latin ovum ‘egg’, also the source of ovary [M17th]. The Oval is an oval cricket ground in Kennington, south London, opened in 1846, the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club. The Oval Office is the informal name for the oval-shaped private office of the president of the United States, used since the 1960s.