sperm
11 dictionary results for: Sperm
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
sperm1 
[spurm] Pronunciation Key,
[spurm] Pronunciation Key, [Origin: 1350–1400; ME sperme < LL sperma < Gk spérma seed, equiv. to sper- (base of speírein to sow seeds) + -ma n. suffix of result]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| sperm 1
(spûrm) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. sperm or sperms
[Middle English sperme, semen, from Old French esperme, from Late Latin sperma, from Greek; see sper- in Indo-European roots.] sperm'ous adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| sperm 2
(spûrm) Pronunciation Key
n. A substance, such as spermaceti, associated with the sperm whale. [Short for spermaceti.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sperm
sperm
c.1386, probably from O.Fr. esperme, from L.L. sperma "seed, semen," from Gk. sperma "seed," from speirein "to sow, scatter," from PIE *sper- "to strew" (see sprout). Spermatozoon "male sexual cell" is an 1836 formation from Gk. spermato-, combining form of sperma (gen. spermatos) + zoion "animal." Sperm bank is attested from 1963. Spermicide (n.) first recorded 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| sperm | |
noun | |
| the male reproductive cell; the male gamete; "a sperm is mostly a nucleus surrounded by little other cellular material" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| sperm
(spûrm) Pronunciation Key
The smaller, usually motile male reproductive cell of most organisms that reproduce sexually. Sperm cells are haploid (they have half the number of chromosomes as the other cells in the organism's body). Sperm often have at least one flagellum. During fertilization, the nucleus of a sperm fuses with the nucleus of the much larger egg cell (the female reproductive cell) to form a new organism. In male animals, sperm are normally produced by the testes in extremely large numbers in order to increase the chances of fertilizing an egg. Motile sperm cells produced by some multicellular protist groups (such as the algae), the bryophyte plants, and the seedless vascular plants, require water to swim to the egg cell. In gymnosperms and angiosperms, sperm do not need water for mobility but are carried to the female reproductive organs in the pollen grain. In the cycads and the gingko (both gymnosperms), the sperm are motile and propel themselves down the pollen tube to reach the egg cell. In the conifers and angiosperms, the sperm are not themselves motile but are conveyed to the ovule by the growing pollen tube.
Our Living Language : The human sperm cell is divided into a head that contains the nucleus, a mid-section that contains mitochondria to provide energy for the sperm, and a flagellum that allows the sperm to move. When fertilization occurs, the nucleus and other contents from the sperm cells are drawn into the cytoplasm of the egg, but the mitochondria in the sperm are destroyed and do not survive in the zygote. Since mitochondria contain their own DNA (thought to be a relic from an existence as separate symbiotic organisms), all of the mitochrondrial DNA in humans is thus inherited from the female. The semen produced by the male reproductive tract as a medium for sperm typically contains over 100 million sperm cells, all of which have but one purpose: to fertilize the single available egg. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
sperm
sperm
The male sex cell, typically consisting of a head, midpiece, and tail. (See fertilization.)
Note: Sperm are much smaller than the ova they fertilize.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sperm (spûrm)
n. pl sperm or sperms
- A male gamete or reproductive cell; a spermatozoon.
- Semen.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sperm
Sperm\, n.[F. sperme, L. sperma, Gr. ???, ???, from ???? to sow. Cf. Spore.] (Physiol.) The male fecundating fluid; semen. See Semen. Sperm cell (Physiol.), one of the cells from which the spermatozoids are developed. Sperm morula. (Biol.) Same as Spermosphere.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sperm
Sperm\, n.[Contr. fr. spermaceti.] Spermaceti. Sperm oil, a fatty oil found as a liquid, with spermaceti, in the head cavities of the sperm whale. Sperm whale. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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