seminal
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, containing, or consisting of semen.
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Botany. of or relating to seed.
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having possibilities of future development.
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highly original and influencing the development of future events.
a seminal artist; seminal ideas.
- Synonyms:
- innovative , formative , primary , germinal
adjective
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potentially capable of development
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highly original, influential, and important
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rudimentary or unformed
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of or relating to semen
seminal fluid
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biology of or relating to seed
Other Word Forms
- interseminal adjective
- preseminal adjective
- seminality noun
- seminally adverb
Etymology
Origin of seminal
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sēminālis, equivalent to sēmin- (stem of sēmen ) seed, semen + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He joined another seminal group, Primal Scream, in 1996 and played with them for 15 years.
From BBC
Soundgarden, the seminal Seattle grunge rock group, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony at the Peacock Theater on Saturday night.
From Los Angeles Times
The event will celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ seminal “Rubber Soul” album.
From Salon
“For me, winning a championship, the seminal moment of that is the parade,” Friedman said.
From Los Angeles Times
That a dictionary could influence a court case at all owes in part to Garner’s seminal book on textualism, a conserative legal doctrine that dictates a page-bound interpretation of the law.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
