pre-seminal

adjective

pertaining to, containing, or consisting of semen.

Botany. of or pertaining to seed.

having possibilities of future development.

highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sēminālis, equivalent to sēmin- (stem of sēmen) seed, semen + -ālis -al¹

Related forms

sem·i·nal·i·ty, noun

sem·i·nal·ly, adverb

in·ter·sem·i·nal, adjective

pre·sem·i·nal, adjective

Synonyms
4. germinal, primary, formative, innovative.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To pre-seminal

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Pre-seminal is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

seminal (ˈsɛmɪnəl)

—*adj*
1.	potentially capable of development
2.	highly original, influential, and important
3.	rudimentary or unformed
4.	of or relating to semen: seminal fluid
5.	biology of or relating to seed

[C14: from Late Latin sēminālis belonging to seed, from Latin sēmen seed]

semi'nality

—n

'seminally

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

seminal

late 14c., "of seed or semen," from O.Fr. seminal (14c.), from L. seminalis, from semen (gen. seminis) "seed" (see semen). Fig. sense of "full of possibilities" is attested from 1630s.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

seminal sem·i·nal (sěm'ə-nəl)
adj.
Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed.

Matching Quote

"In the history of human inquiry, philosophy has the place of the initial central sun, seminal and tumultuous; from time to time it throws of some portion of itself to take station as a science, a planet, cool and well regulated, progressing steadily towards a distant final state.... Is it not possible that the next century may see the birth, through the joint efforts of philosophers, grammarians, and numerous other students of language, of a true and comprehensive science of language? Then we shall have rid ourselves of one more part of philosophy (there will still be plenty left) in the only way we ever can get rid of philosophy, by kicking it upstairs."

-John Austin

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