inseminate (v.)

1620s, "to cast as seed," from inseminatus, past participle of Latin inseminare "to sow, implant," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + semen (genitive semenis) "seed" (from PIE root *sē- "to sow"). Meaning "to impregnate with semen" is attested from 1897.

It has seemed necessary, therefore, to make a distinction between the introduction of seminal fluid into the female generative organs of animals and the subsequent possible fertilisation of their ova, and for that purpose I have used the word "inseminate," which can thus be applied to animals in precisely the same way as the word "pollenate" is applied by some botanists to denote the placing of pollen on the stigma of a plant. [Walter Heape, "The artificial Insemination of Mammals," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, vol. lxi, 1897]

Related: Inseminated; inseminating.

also from 1620s

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insemination (n.)

1650s, "action of sowing," noun of action from inseminate. Meaning "infusion of semen" is from 1854.

*en

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "in."

It forms all or part of: and; atoll; dysentery; embargo; embarrass; embryo; empire; employ; en- (1) "in; into;" en- (2) "near, at, in, on, within;" enclave; endo-; enema; engine; enoptomancy; enter; enteric; enteritis; entero-; entice; ento-; entrails; envoy; envy; episode; esoteric; imbroglio; immolate; immure; impede; impend; impetus; important; impostor; impresario; impromptu; in; in- (2) "into, in, on, upon;" inchoate; incite; increase; inculcate; incumbent; industry; indigence; inflict; ingenuous; ingest; inly; inmost; inn; innate; inner; innuendo; inoculate; insignia; instant; intaglio; inter-; interim; interior; intern; internal; intestine; intimate (adj.) "closely acquainted, very familiar;" intra-; intricate; intrinsic; intro-; introduce; introduction; introit; introspect; invert; mesentery.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit antara- "interior;" Greek en "in," eis "into," endon "within;" Latin in "in, into," intro "inward," intra "inside, within;" Old Irish in, Welsh yn, Old Church Slavonic on-, Old English in "in, into," inne "within, inside."

*sē-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to sow."

It forms all or part of: disseminate; inseminate; seed; seme (adj.); semen; seminal; seminar; seminary; semination; sinsemilla; sow (v.); season.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin serere "to sow;" Old Church Slavonic sejo, sejati; Lithuanian sju, sti "to sow;" Old English sawan "to sow;" Old Prussian semen "seed," Lithuanian smenys "seed of flax," Old Church Slavonic seme, Old High German samo, German Same; Old English sed, sd "that which may be sown; an individual grain of seed."

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sow

Middle English souen, from Old English sawan "to scatter seed upon the ground or plant it in the earth, disseminate" (class VII strong verb; past tense seow, past participle sawen), from Proto-Germanic *sean (source also of Old Norse sa, Old Saxon saian, Middle Dutch sayen, Dutch

change

c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

modify

late 14c., modifien, "alter, amend, adjust, change the properties, form, or function of;" also "set limits, keep within the bounds of reason; choose a middle course," from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, ma

seed

Middle English sēd, from Old English sēd (Anglian), sæd (West Saxon), "that which may be sown; an individual grain of seed," from Proto-Germanic *sediz "seed" (source also of Old Norse sað, Old Saxon sad, Old Frisian sed, Middle Dutch saet, Old High German sat, German Saat). This

knock up

1660s, "arouse by knocking at the door," from knock (v.) + up (adv.). However it is little used in this sense in American English, where the phrase means "get a woman pregnant" (1813, in a New Jersey context), possibly ultimately from knock in a sense "to copulate with" (1590s; c

alert

"on the watch," 1610s, from French alerte "vigilant" (17c.), from prepositional phrase à l'erte "on the watch," from Italian all'erta "to the height." The second element is from erta "lookout, high tower," noun use of fem. of erto, past participle of ergere "raise up," from Latin

alter

late 14c., "to change (something), make different in some way," from Old French alterer "to change, alter," from Medieval Latin alterare "to change," from Latin alter "the other (of the two)," from PIE root *al- (1) "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (as in other). Intransitive s

impregnate

c. 1600, "to fill with an ingredient, spirit, etc.;" 1640s as "make (a female) pregnant," from Late Latin impraegnatus "pregnant," past participle of impraegnare "to render pregnant," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + praegnare "make pregnant" (se

Europe

from Latin Europa "Europe," from Greek Europe, which is of uncertain origin; as a geographic name first recorded in the Homeric hymn to Apollo (522 B.C.E. or earlier): "Telphusa, here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they will always bring per

Albuquerque

city in New Mexico, founded 1706 and named for Spanish administrator and viceroy of Mexico Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque (1617-1676); the name subsequently was altered by association with Portuguese hero Alfonso d'Albuquerque (1453-1515), the "Portuguese

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updated on August 17, 2020

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