seminary

American  

[sem-uh-ner-ee] / ˈsɛm əˌnɛr i /

noun

seminaries plural

1. a special school providing education in theology, religious history, etc., primarily to prepare students for the priesthood, ministry, or rabbinate.

2. a school, especially one of higher grade.

3. a school of secondary or higher level for young women.

4. seminar.

5. a place of origin and propagation.

   a seminary of discontent.

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seminary British  

/ ˈsɛmɪnərɪ /

noun

1. an academy for the training of priests, rabbis, etc

2. another word for seminar

3. a place where something is grown

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preseminary
  adjective
• seminarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• seminaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of seminary

1400–50; late Middle English: seed plot, nursery < Latin sēminārium, equivalent to sēmin- (stem of sēmen ) seed, semen + -ārium -ary

Explanation

What do ministers, priests, rabbis, and children have in common? They all might attend a school that has the word seminary in its name. A seminary is a school, especially one where people train to be religious leaders. Seminary comes from the Latin word seminarium, meaning "plant nursery," which can be interpreted as, "breeding ground." Like a greenhouse that provides ideal conditions for seeds to grow into hearty plants, a seminary was first a place for young men to become priests. Seminary typically describes religious institutions but it can apply to nonreligious schools as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seminary seminaries

The new consecrations are set to take place near the society's seminary in Econe, a village in the Rhone valley in Alpine southwest Switzerland, at the foot of the mountains.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

He later joined a seminary in Southern California with the idea of becoming a Catholic priest, and discovered that his first task involved restocking the residence’s vending machine each night—with Fritos, Snickers and Lays.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

He left before completing seminary, joining the civil rights movement full time.

From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2026

But the changes blowing through Israel have not yet breached the walls of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva - or Jewish seminary - in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

“Indeed, on several occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on his way.”

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

A senior cleric from Najaf's Shia seminaries then led the funeral prayers.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Najaf is the main centre of Shia religious seminaries, and is also home to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shia religious authority.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

“The church is thriving in many parts of Africa, and seminaries there are full in a way they are not in the U.S. or Europe,” said Kevin Hughes, a professor of theology at Villanova University.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Most of them reside and run seminaries in the holy cities of Qom in Iran and Najaf in Iraq.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026

Napoleon, in his Organic Articles, imposed it upon the seminaries of France even more strictly than did Louis XIV., at an earlier day.

From The War Upon Religion Being an Account of the Rise and Progress of Anti-christianism in Europe by Cunningham, Francis A. (Francis Aloysius)

Related Words

• academy
• association
• business
• clinic
• company
• establishment
• foundation
• hospital
• institute
• school
• society
• system
• university