seminal
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L340299 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsɛmɪnəl/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥ Proto-Italic *sēmn̥ Latin sēmen Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sēminālis Old French seminalbor. Middle English seminal English seminal From Middle English seminal, semynal, from Old French seminal, seminale, from Latin sēminālis, ultimately from oblique stem of Latin sēmen, sēminis (“seed”) + -al.
- Of or relating to seed or semen.
“During the summer, he studied calmars at Lisbon, but found no appearance of any roe, nor any reservoir which appeared to be destined for the reception of the seminal liquor; and it was in the middle of December, that he began to discern the first traces of a new vessel replete with a milty juice.”
- Creative or having the power to originate.
- Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.
“"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was a seminal work in the modern philosophy of science.”
“The idea of God is, beyond all question or comparison, the one great seminal principle.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥ Proto-Italic *sēmn̥ Latin sēmen Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sēminālis Old French seminalbor. Middle English seminal English seminal From Middle English seminal, semynal, from Old French seminal, seminale, from Latin sēminālis, ultimately from oblique stem of Latin sēmen, sēminis (“seed”) + -al.
- A seed.
“the seminals of spiders and scorpions”