What is "ab ovo"

adv. From the beginning. (First attested in the late 16^th century.)(R:SOED5: page=7)

Ab ovo ( Latin: "from the beginning, the origin, the egg") is a reference to one of the twin eggs from which Helen of Troy was born. The eggs were laid by Leda after mating with Zeus disguised as a swan. Had Leda not laid the egg, Helen would not have been born, so Paris could not have eloped with her, so there would have been no Trojan War.

Ab ovo is a 1917 painting by Paul Klee (1879–1940), which is particularly noteworthy for its sophisticated technique. It employs watercolor on gauze and paper with a chalk ground, which produces a rich texture of triangular, circular, and crescent patterns.