seminary

[sem-uh-ner-ee]

noun

plural

seminaries 

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.

seminary

/ ˈsɛmɪnərɪ /

noun

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

2. another word for seminar

3. a place where something is grown

Other Word Forms

• seminarial adjective
• preseminary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of seminary¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of seminary¹

C15: from Latin sēminārium a nursery garden, from sēmen seed

Example Sentences

There are vocations filling traditional seminaries and religious communities in the U.S., loyal to Rome and to their local bishops.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The final lineup included a seminary professor, a structural engineer and an investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At the turn of the millennium, Jody Silliker, a young minister fresh out of seminary, was sent to shutter the downtown church, a mile from the state legislature in Harrisburg.

Read more on Salon

He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.

Read more on BBC

The seminary has long been associated with the Taliban since several of its members, including the group's founder Mullah Omar, trained there.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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