sperm

¹

[ spurm ]

noun

, plural sperm, sperms

1. semen.
2. a male reproductive cell; spermatozoon.

sperm

²

[ spurm ]

noun

1. spermaceti.
2. sperm whale.
3. sperm oil.

sperm-

³

1. variant of spermo- before a vowel:

   spermine.

-sperm

⁴

1. a combining form with the meaning “one having seeds” of the kind specified by the initial element:

   gymnosperm.

sperm

¹

/ spɜːm /

noun

1. See semen
   another name for semen
2. a male reproductive cell; male gamete

-sperm

²

combining form

1. (in botany) a seed

   gymnosperm

sperm

³

/ spɜːm /

noun

1. See sperm oil, spermaceti, sperm whale
   short for sperm whale spermaceti sperm oil

sperm

/ spûrm /

1. The smaller, usually motile male reproductive cell of most organisms that reproduce sexually. Sperm cells are haploid (they have half the number of chromosomes as the other cells in the organism's body). Sperm often have at least one flagellum. During fertilization, the nucleus of a sperm fuses with the nucleus of the much larger egg cell (the female reproductive cell) to form a new organism. In male animals, sperm are normally produced by the testes in extremely large numbers in order to increase the chances of fertilizing an egg. Motile sperm cells produced by some multicellular protist groups (such as the algae), the bryophyte plants, and the seedless vascular plants, require water to swim to the egg cell. In gymnosperms and angiosperms, sperm do not need water for mobility but are carried to the female reproductive organs in the pollen grain. In the cycads and the gingko (both gymnosperms), the sperm are motile and propel themselves down the pollen tube to reach the egg cell. In the conifers and angiosperms, the sperm are not themselves motile but are conveyed to the ovule by the growing pollen tube.

sperm

1. The male sex cell , typically consisting of a head, midpiece, and tail. ( See fertilization .)

Notes

Sperm are much smaller than the ova they fertilize.

Derived Forms

• -spermous, combining_form:in_adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sperm¹

1350–1400; Middle English sperme < Late Latin sperma < Greek spérma seed, equivalent to sper- (base of speírein to sow seeds) + -ma noun suffix of result

Origin of sperm²

First recorded in 1830–40; by shortening

Origin of sperm³

< Greek -spermos; -spermous

Word History and Origins

Origin of sperm¹

C14: from Late Latin sperma, from Greek; related to Greek speirein to sow

A Closer Look

The human sperm cell is divided into a head that contains the nucleus, a mid-section that contains mitochondria to provide energy for the sperm, and a flagellum that allows the sperm to move. When fertilization occurs, the nucleus and other contents from the sperm cells are drawn into the cytoplasm of the egg, but the mitochondria in the sperm are destroyed and do not survive in the zygote. Since mitochondria contain their own DNA (thought to be a relic from an existence as separate symbiotic organisms), all of the mitochrondrial DNA in humans is thus inherited from the female. The semen produced by the male reproductive tract as a medium for sperm typically contains over 100 million sperm cells, all of which have but one purpose: to fertilize the single available egg.

Example Sentences

When contacted by VOSD, Fiorica confirmed that he deceived Huhn’s mom and used his own sperm.

From Voice of San Diego

Sexual reproduction involves a female and a male, each contributing genetic material in the form of eggs or sperm, to create a unique offspring.

From Ars Technica

Females dictate how much sperm they accept by how long they retain the spermatophore.

From Science News

One of these, a new study published in EClinicalMedicine shows, could be a decrease in sperm count and quality among men recovering from the virus.

From Popular-Science

Tweaking so-called germline cells, which include the DNA inside sperm and eggs, means that any change to the genome would show up in every subsequent generation.

From Popular-Science

Sperm banks also take a trivializing attitude toward donors.

From The Daily Beast

Of course, Josh, like his four brothers, is a member in good standing of the Lucky Sperm Club.

From The Daily Beast

John Meeker, et al. “Semen Quality and Sperm DNA Damage in Relation to Urinary Bisphenol A Among Men From an Infertility Clinic.”

From The Daily Beast

Sperm banks around the globe are facing a crippling shortage of inventory.

From The Daily Beast

Sperm washing, along with surrogates and baby showers, have all but replaced disco dates.

From The Daily Beast

Sperm candles are preferable to any others for general use at the piano and for bed-rooms.

From Project Gutenberg

Sperm whales may be found singly or in groups of up to 35 or 40 individuals.

From Project Gutenberg

Sperm whales feed primarily on squid but may occasionally also take octopuses and a variety of fishes.

From Project Gutenberg

Sperm whales are widely distributed in oceanic areas of the western North Atlantic.

From Project Gutenberg

Sperm whales (p. 57) have a squarish head that may somewhat resemble that of an adult male northern bottlenosed whale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• berry
• corn
• egg
• grain
• nut