seminal (adj.)

late 14c., "of or pertaining to seed or semen, of the elements of reproduction," from Old French seminal (14c.) and directly from Latin seminalis "of or belonging to seed; good for seed," from semen (genitive seminis) "seed" (from PIE root *sē- "to sow"). Figurative sense ("having the properties of a seed") is attested by 1630s, "rudimentary, primary; full of possibilities." Related: Seminally; seminality.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to seminal

*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."

Trends of seminal

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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inseminate

It has seemed necessary, therefore, to make a distinction between the introduction of seminal fluid into the female generative...

malinger

"to pretend illness to escape duty," 1820, from French malingrer "to suffer," a slang word that probably also at one time meant "pretend to be ill," from malingre "ailing, sickly" (13c.), which is of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of mingre "sickly, miserable" and malade "ill

culture

mid-15c., "the tilling of land, act of preparing the earth for crops," from Latin cultura "a cultivating, agriculture," figuratively "care, culture, an honoring," from past participle stem of colere "to tend, guard; to till, cultivate" (see colony). Meaning "the cultivation or re

chauvinism

1840, "exaggerated, blind nationalism; patriotism degenerated into a vice," from French chauvinisme (1839), from the character Nicholas Chauvin, soldier of Napoleon's Grand Armee, who idolized Napoleon and the Empire long after it was history, in the Cogniards' popular 1831 vaude

entail

mid-14c., "convert (an estate) into 'fee tail' (feudum talliatum)," from en- (1) "make" + taile "legal limitation," especially of inheritance, ruling who succeeds in ownership and preventing the property from being sold off, from Anglo-French taile, Old French taillie, past parti

mantle

Old English mentel "a loose, sleeveless garment worn as an outer covering, falling in straight lines from the shoulders," from Latin mantellum "cloak" (source of Italian mantello, Old High German mantal, German Mantel, Old Norse mötull), perhaps from a Celtic source, or, if the L

Logos

1580s, "the divine Word, second person of the Christian Trinity," from Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse," also "a computation, account," also "reason, judgment, understanding," from PIE *log-o-, suffixed form of root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives

gospel

Old English godspel "glad tidings announced by Jesus; one of the four gospels," literally "good spell," from god "good" (see good (adj.)) + spel "story, message" (see spell (n.1)). A translation of Latin bona adnuntiatio, itself a translation of Greek euangelion "reward for bring

firmament

mid-13c., "expanse of space above the earth where the heavenly bodies move," hence "the arch or vault of the heavens, the visible sky" (c. 1300), from Old French firmament or directly from Latin firmamentum "firmament," literally "a support, a strengthening," from firmus "strong,

twilight

"light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon at morning and evening," late 14c. (twilighting), a compound of twi- + light (n.) Cognate with Middle Flemish twilicht, Dutch tweelicht (16c.), Middle High German twelicht, German zwielicht. Exact connotation of twi- in this w

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updated on May 25, 2022

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Dictionary entries near seminal

semidemisemiquaver

semi-detached

semidiurnal

semifinal

semi-monthly

seminal

seminar

seminarian

seminary

semination

Seminole