seminal

See also: séminal

English

Etymology

From Middle English seminal, semynal, from Old French seminal, seminale, from Latin sēminālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛmɪnəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛmɪnəl

Adjective

seminal (comparative more seminal, superlative most seminal)

1. Of or relating to seed or semen.
   • 1792, George Louis Le Clerc, Barr's Buffon. Buffon's Natural History, page 126:

     During the summer, he studied calmars at Lisbon, but found no appearance of any roe, nor any reservoir which appeared to be destined for the reception of the seminal liquor; and it was in the middle of December, that he began to discern the first traces of a new vessel replete with a milty juice.

2. Creative or having the power to originate.
3. Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.

   Synonyms: influential, pioneering

   "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was a seminal work in the modern philosophy of science.

   • 1827, Julius Hare, Augustus William Hare, Guesses at Truth:

     The idea of God is, beyond all question or comparison, the one great seminal principle.

   • 1988 December 18, Christopher Wittke, “Why I Loved Marc Almond From The Minute I First Read About Him”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 23, page 11:

     The opening strains of "Left to My Own Devices" puts this album directly in the company of two of the most seminal dance albums of this decade, ABC's The Lexicon of Love and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome.

   • 2000, Walter Nicholson, Intermediate microeconomics and its application:

     For a seminal contribution to the economics of fertility, ....

Synonyms

• (relating to seed): germinal
• (creative): innovative, primary
• (highly influential): influential, innovative, formative

Derived terms

• human seminal plasma protein hypersensitivity
• nonseminal
• seminal fluid
• seminality
• seminally
• seminal vesicle

Translations

of or relating to seed or semen

Bulgarian: семенен (semenen) Chinese: Mandarin: 種子的 / 种子的 (zh) (zhǒngzi de), 精液的 (zh) (jīngyè de) Dutch: zaad- (nl) Finnish: siemen- (fi) French: séminal (fr) Georgian: სათესლე (satesle) German: Saat- (de), Samen- (de), spermatisch Italian: seminale (it) Latin: seminalis Lithuanian: sėklinis Portuguese: seminal Russian: семенно́й (ru) (semennój) Scottish Gaelic: sìolach Slovene: seménski, seminálen Spanish: seminal (es) Turkish: dölsel, seminal (tr)

creative or having the power to originate

Bulgarian: оплождащ (bg) (oploždašt) Chinese: Mandarin: 創造性的 / 创造性的 (zh) (chuàngzàoxìng de) Dutch: creatief (nl), vruchtbaar (nl) French: créatif (fr), reproductif (fr), fondateur (fr), fécond (fr) German: fruchtbar (de), produktiv (de) Latin: seminalis Portuguese: seminal Russian: плодови́тый (ru) (plodovítyj) Spanish: germinal (es) Turkish: kreatif (tr), yaratıcı (tr)

highly influential

Chinese: Mandarin: 影響深遠的 / 影响深远的 (yǐngxiǎn shēnyuǎn de) Dutch: invloedrijk (nl), belangrijk (nl), baanbrekend (nl) Finnish: uraauurtava (fi), mullistava (fi) French: influent (fr), important (fr), essentiel (fr) German: grundlegend (de), bahnbrechend (de), zukunftsträchtig, ur- (de), wegweisend (de) Italian: seminale (it) Portuguese: seminal Russian: основополага́ющий (ru) (osnovopolagájuščij) Serbo-Croatian: утицајан m (uticajan), плодоносан m (plodonosan) Spanish: influyente (es) Swedish: nyskapande (sv), inflytelserik (sv) Turkish: çığır açıcı

Noun

seminal (plural seminals)

1. (obsolete) A seed.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     the seminals of spiders and scorpions

Anagrams

• Elamins, Malines, Melians, isleman, menials, salmine

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sēminālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [sə.miˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [se.miˈnal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

seminal m or f (masculine and feminine plural seminals)

1. seminal

Derived terms

• vesícula seminal

Further reading

• “seminal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “seminal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “seminal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “seminal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sēminālis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /se.miˈnaw/ [se.miˈnaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨ.miˈnal/ [sɨ.miˈnaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨ.miˈnal/ [sɨ.miˈnaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨ.miˈna.li/

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: se‧mi‧nal

Adjective

seminal m or f (plural seminais)

1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
3. seminal; creative; inventive

   Synonyms: criativo, inventivo, fértil

4. seminal (highly influential)

Related terms

• sêmen
• semente

Further reading

• “seminal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French séminal, from Latin seminalis.

Adjective

seminal m or n (feminine singular seminală, masculine plural seminali, feminine and neuter plural seminale)

1. seminal

Declension

Declension of seminal

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	seminal		seminală		seminali	seminale
	definite	seminalul		seminala		seminalii	seminalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	seminal		seminale		seminali	seminale
	definite	seminalului		seminalei		seminalilor	seminalelor

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin sēminālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /semiˈnal/ [se.miˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: se‧mi‧nal

Adjective

seminal m or f (masculine and feminine plural seminales)

1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
3. seminal; creative; inventive
4. seminal (highly influential)

Derived terms

• vesícula seminal

Related terms

• semen
• semilla

Further reading

• “seminal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024