seminal

[ sem-uh-nl ]

/ ˈsɛm ə nl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR seminal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to, containing, or consisting of semen.

Botany. of or relating to seed.

having possibilities of future development.

highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas.

Nearby words

Origin of seminal

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sēminālis, equivalent to sēmin- (stem of sēmen) seed, semen + -ālis -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR seminal

4. germinal, primary, formative, innovative.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR seminal ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssem·i·nal·i·ty, nounsem·i·nal·ly, adverbin·ter·sem·i·nal, adjectivepre·sem·i·nal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for seminal

In the long sweep of LGBT equality, it could have stood as a seminal moment.
Is Gay Marriage Going Away in 2016?|David Freedlander|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Capital in the Twenty-First Century is already being hailed as a seminal work of economic thought, and with very good reason.
This Week’s Hot Reads: April 21, 2014|Thomas Flynn|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the seminal war memoirs of this or any time.
Lawrence of Arabia Became Popular as the Dashing Antithesis of the War in Europe|Jack Schwartz|December 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
[the seminal pulp crime magazine which first published Hammett].
The Man With Stories to Tell|Allen Barra|December 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As a college student, I remember reading his seminal book, The Selfish Gene, with an equal measure of acceptance and despair.
Richard Dawkins May Be a Christian in Disguise, Even to Himself|Joshua DuBois|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This is called a seminal emission, and is perfectly harmless.
The Sex Side of Life|Mary Dennett
He says also, that one season he could not find living animals in the seminal liquor of the cod.
Buffon's Natural History, Volume III (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Seminal, sem′in-al, adj. pertaining to seed: radical: rudimentary.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Distention of the seminal vesicles with a superabundance of seminal fluid also acts as a source of irritation.
Plain Facts for Old and Young|John Harvey Kellogg
Darknesse and light hold interchangeable dominions, and alternately rule the seminal state of things.
The Works of Sir Thomas Browne|Thomas Browne

British Dictionary definitions for seminal

seminal

/ (ˈsɛmɪnəl) /

adjective

potentially capable of development

highly original, influential, and important

rudimentary or unformed

of or relating to semenseminal fluid

biology of or relating to seed

Derived Formsseminality, nounseminally, adverb

Word Origin for seminal

C14: from Late Latin sēminālis belonging to seed, from Latin sēmen seed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seminal

seminal

adj.

late 14c., "of seed or semen," from Old French seminal (14c.) and directly from Latin seminalis, from semen (genitive seminis) "seed" (see semen). Figurative sense of "full of possibilities" is attested from 1630s. Related: Seminally; seminality.

Medicine definitions for seminal

seminal

[ sĕm′ə-nəl ]

adj.

Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed.

seminal

adjective

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Origin of seminal

Examples from the Web for seminal

seminal

adjective

Word Origin for seminal

seminal

seminal

adj.