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Webster 1913 Edition


Seminal

Sem′i-nal

,
Adj.
[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.
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
.
(Zool.)
Same as
Spermatheca
.

Sem′i-nal

,
Noun.
A seed.
[Obs.]
Sir T. Browne.

Webster 1828 Edition


Seminal

SEM'INAL

,
Adj.
[L. seminalis, from semen, seed; from the root of sow.]
1. Pertaining to seed, or to the elements of production.
2. Contained in a seed; radical; rudimental; original; as seminal principles of generation; seminal virtue.

Definition 2024


seminal

seminal

See also: séminal

English

Adjective

seminal (comparative more seminal, superlative most seminal)

  1. Of or relating to seed or semen.
  2. Creative or having the power to originate.
  3. Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.
    • Hare
      The idea of God is, beyond all question or comparison, the one great seminal principle.
    "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was a seminal work in the modern philosophy of science.
    • 2000, Walter Nicholson, Intermediate microeconomics and its application:
      For a seminal contribution to the economics of fertility, ....

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

seminal (plural seminals)

  1. (obsolete) A seed.
    • Sir Thomas Browne
      the seminals of spiders and scorpions

Anagrams


Portuguese

Adjective

seminal m, f (plural seminais, comparable)

  1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
  2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
  3. seminal; creative; inventive
  4. seminal (highly influential)

Synonyms

Related terms


Spanish

Adjective

seminal m, f (plural seminales)

  1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
  2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
  3. seminal; creative; inventive
  4. seminal (highly influential)