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seminal - 7 dictionary results

sem⋅i⋅nal

  [sem-uh-nl]
Use seminal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. pertaining to, containing, or consisting of semen.
2. Botany. of or pertaining to seed.
3. having possibilities of future development.
4. highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L sēminālis, equiv. to sēmin- (s. of sēmen) seed, semen + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
sem⋅i⋅nal⋅i⋅ty, noun
sem⋅i⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. germinal, primary, formative, innovative.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sem·i·nal   (sěm'ə-nəl)   
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed.
  2. Of, relating to, or having the power to originate; creative.
  3. Highly influential in an original way; constituting or providing a basis for further development: a seminal idea in the creation of a new theory.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sēminālis, from sēmen, sēmin-, seed; see semen.]
sem'i·nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Seminal

Sem"i*nal\, a. [L. seminalis, fr. semen, seminis, seed, akin to serere to sow: cf. F. seminal. See Sow to scatter seed.]

1. Pertaining to, containing, or consisting of, seed or semen; as, the seminal fluid.

2. Contained in seed; holding the relation of seed, source, or first principle; holding the first place in a series of developed results or consequents; germinal; radical; primary; original; as, seminal principles of generation; seminal virtue.

The idea of God is, beyond all question or comparison, the one great seminal principle. --Hare.

Seminal leaf (Bot.), a seed leaf, or cotyleden.

Seminal receptacle. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Spermatheca.

Seminal

Sem"i*nal\, n. A seed. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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seminal 
1398, "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 1639.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: sem·i·nal
Pronunciation: 'sem-&n-&l
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen<seminal discharge>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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seminal sem·i·nal (sěm'ə-nəl)
adj.
Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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