sperma

Forms

sperma n (genitive spermatis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”),^[1][2][3] from σπείρειν (speírein, “to scatter, sow”).^[4][5] Wiktionary traces the Greek noun to Proto-Indo-European *spérmn̥, built on the root *sper-.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chronicle of Sulpicius Severus (1.11), meaning seed or semen.^[2][6][7][4]

Semantic evolution

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant seed or semen,^[8] and British medieval writers used it for the seed of plants, of men, women and animals, figuratively for the Word of God as seed (after the parable of the sower), and in alchemy for a source or origin.^[3]

English took over sperm in the late 14th century, probably from Old French and directly from Late Latin sperma.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 363–c. 420 AD – Sulpicius Severus uses it for seed or semen.^[2][4]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as sperm.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Seed, semen, sperm.^[2][6][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) The seed of a plant or animal.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin, figurative) The Word of God, as seed.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin, alchemy) A source, origin.^[3]

Word family

• spermaticus

Related words

• English sperm

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson