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

Mr. Burgis withdrew from seminary after realizing the priesthood wasn’t his calling, but he remains a devout Catholic whose faith centers his academic work in entrepreneurship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

He studied in a seminary in Qom after his service with the Revolutionary Guard and wears the black turban of a sayyid, indicating that he traces his lineage to the prophet Muhammad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

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

From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2026

There, in the sand of the plaza of that small city, the boy read the names of his father and his mother and the name of the seminary he had attended.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

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

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

He studied at religious seminaries in Mashhad before continuing his education in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf and the religious centre of Qom.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 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

Alireza Arafi, a cleric in his late 60s who leads Iran’s seminaries, has stayed above politics and could appeal to both hard-liners and more moderate forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

Dioceses were reduced in number; cathedral chapters, abbacies, and prebenderies were suppressed; the fees to the nuncio and to the seminaries were discontinued.

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

Related Words

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