sem·i·nal
Audio Help [sem-uh-nl] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [sem-uh-nl] Pronunciation Key –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. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
seminal
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| sem·i·nal
Audio Help (sěm'ə-nəl) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
| seminal | |
adjective | |
| 1. | pertaining to or containing or consisting of semen; "seminal fluid" |
| 2. | containing seeds of later development; "seminal ideas of one discipline can influence the growth of another" [syn: germinal] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
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.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Seminal
Sem"i*nal\, n. A seed. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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