seminal

Forms

seminal m or f (plural seminais)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sēminālis (“of seed; used for sowing”).^[2][3][1] Nascentes calls it a learned word.^[4]

The Latin adjective is formed from sēmen (“seed”) and -ālis.^[5][1] The noun goes back to Proto-Italic *sēmn̥ and Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥ (“seed”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the first record to 1707, and Cunha to the 17th century.^[2][3] Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as "for seed, or productive of seed" and also "productive, generative", and quotes a medical treatise: A malicia Seminal das doenças, que està escondida, resuscita "the seminal malice of diseases, which lies hidden, revives".^[6]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1813) gives the sense "relating to semen" (vasos seminaes, materia seminal) and the figurative "productive".^[7] Vieira (1871–1874) adds a botanical use for the first leaves that grow from the seed, the cotyledons.^[8] The vesículas seminais are the glands that store semen.^[9][10]

The figurative "fertile, productive" grew into "that inspires new work, generative of new ideas", as in a seminal book or thinker.^[2][11] Wiktionary gives "highly influential".^[1]

Timeline

• 1707 – first record.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau enters it with quotations on plants and diseases.^[6]
• 1813 – Morais gives the senses "relating to semen" and "productive".^[7]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira adds the botanical sense.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to semen (sêmen); that produces or contains semen: vesícula seminal.^[2][12][1]
2. Relating to seed (semente).^[13][14][1]
3. (figurative) Productive, fertile.^[13][14]
4. (figurative) That gives rise to new ideas or works; inspiring, highly influential: um estudo seminal.^[2][1]

Related words

• sêmen
• semente
• semear
• Latin sēmen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. seminal
3. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. semear
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. seminal
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. sēminālis
6. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. seminal
7. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 684
8. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 467
9. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. seminal
10. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8394
11. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. seminal
12. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. seminal
13. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. seminal
14. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. seminal