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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English semen , from Latin sēmen ( “ seed ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- ( “ to sow; plant ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
semen (usually uncountable , plural semens )
A sticky, milky fluid produced in male reproductive organs that contains the reproductive cells.
1981 , William Irwin Thompson , The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture , London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 162 :In the Sumerian language the word for water also means semen , and since Enki is the god of water, he is therefore the god of semen . In this ode to the Great Father, the land of the Sumerians is literally awash with semen .
Synonyms
( male reproductory fluid ) : ejaculate , sperm ; ( slang ) : jissom , jism , jizz , balljuice , spunk , cum , seed , spurt , spooge , splooge , load , skeet , squirt , nut
See also Thesaurus:semen
Derived terms
Translations
male reproductory fluid
Abkhaz: аӷьаӡ ( ağʲadz )
Akkadian: riḫūtu f
Albanian: spermë (sq) f , lëng seminal m
Arabic: مَنِيّ m ( maniyy )
Egyptian Arabic: مني m ( mani ) , لبن m ( laban ) ( vulgar )
Armenian: սերմ (hy) ( serm ) , սերմնահեղուկ (hy) ( sermnaheġuk )
Asturian: semen (ast) m
Azerbaijani: toxum (az)
Bashkir: мәней ( məney ) , аталыҡ орлоғо ( atalıq orloğo )
Basque: hazi
Belarusian: спе́рма f ( spjérma ) , се́мя (be) n ( sjémja ) , кнура́ f ( knurá ) , насе́нне n ( nasjénnje )
Bengali: বীর্য (bn) ( birjo )
Bikol Central: kasit (bcl)
Bulgarian: спе́рма f ( spérma ) , семенна течност f ( semenna tečnost )
Burmese: သုက် (my) ( suk ) , သုက်ရည် ( suk-rany )
Catalan: esperma (ca) f
Chinese:
Cantonese: 精液 ( zing1 jik6 ) , 精 ( zing1 )
Hokkien: 精水 ( cheng-chúi ) , 潲 (zh-min-nan) ( siâu )
Mandarin: 精液 (zh) ( jīngyè ) , 㞞 / 𪨊 (zh) ( sóng )
Czech: semeno (cs) n , ejakulát (cs) m , sperma (cs) n
Danish: sæd (da)
Dutch: sperma (nl)
Dzongkha: ཐིག་ལེ ( thig le )
Egyptian: (mtwt )
Esperanto: ejakulaĵo , spermo
Estonian: seemnevedelik , sperma (et)
Faroese: sáð n , spin n
Finnish: siemenneste (fi) , sperma (fi)
French: semence (fr) f , sperme (fr) m
Galician: seme (gl) m
Gamilaraay: barabin
Georgian: სპერმა ( sṗerma ) , თესლი (ka) ( tesli ) ( mildly vulgar )
German: Samen (de) m
Greek: σπέρμα (el) n ( spérma )
Ancient: θορός m ( thorós )
Greenlandic: anisooq , peersaq
Gujarati: વીર્ય ( vīrya )
Hebrew: זֶרַע (he) m ( zera' ) , זִרְמָה f ( zirma )
Hindi: वीर्य (hi) m ( vīrya ) , शुक्र (hi) m ( śukra ) , बीज (hi) ( bīj ) ( seed ) , धात (hi) ( dhāt ) , धातु (hi) ( dhātu ) , नुत्फ़ा ( nutfā ) , मनी (hi) ( manī ) , रेतस् (hi) ( retas )
Hungarian: ondó (hu)
Icelandic: sæði n , sáð n , sáðvökvi m , brundur m
Indonesian: air mani , semen (id) , sperma (id)
Irish: seamhan m , síol m
Italian: sperma (it) m , seme (it) m
Japanese: 精液 (ja) ( せいえき, seieki ) , ザーメン (ja) ( zāmen )
Karok: síshaf
Khmer: ទឹកកាម (km) ( tɨk kaam )
Korean: 정액(精液) (ko) ( jeong'aek ) , ( slang ) 좆물 ( jonmul ) ,
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تۆواو ( towaw )
Northern Kurdish: tovav f
Kyrgyz: сперма (ky) ( sperma )
Lao: ອະສຸຈິ ( ʼa su chi ) , ນ້ຳກາມ ( nam kām )
Latin: sēmen n
Latvian: sēkla (lv) f , sperma f
Lithuanian: sperma f , sėkla (lt) f
Macedonian: сперма f ( sperma )
Malay: mani (ms)
Malayalam: ശുക്ലം (ml) ( śuklaṁ )
Maltese: liba f
Manchu: ᠣᠣᡵᡳ ( oori )
Maori: waitātea
Marathi: रेत ( ret )
Middle English: seed
Navajo: íígąsh
Norwegian: sæd m
Old Czech: chám m
Persian: منی (fa) ( mani ) , اسپرم (fa) ( esperm )
Middle Persian: šuhr
Polish: sperma (pl) f , nasienie (pl) n
Portuguese: sêmen (pt) m , sémen (pt) m
Romanian: spermă (ro) f
Russian: се́мя (ru) n ( sémja ) , спе́рма (ru) f ( spérma ) , эякуля́т (ru) m ( ejakulját ) , молофья́ (ru) f ( molofʹjá ) ( vulgar )
Sami:
Inari: siemâkolgos
Northern: siemagolggus
Skolt: siõmkoolǥâs
Sanskrit: रेतस् (sa) n ( retas )
Serbo-Croatian: sjeme (sh) n , ejakulat (sh) m , svršotina f
Cyrillic: сперма f
Roman: sperma (sh) f
Shan: ၼမ်ႉၸိူဝ်ႉ ( nâ̰m tsô̰e )
Slovak: sperma f , semeno n
Slovene: séme (sl) n , spêrma (sl) f
Spanish: semen (es) m , acabadura f ( colloquial ) , cabadura f ( vulgar )
Sumerian: 𒀀 ( a )
Swahili: shahawa , manii (sw)
Swedish: säd (sv) ,sädesvätska (sv) , sperma (sv) , sagge (sv) c
Tagalog: punlay , tabod , tamod , semilya , danupunlay
Tajik: тухмӣ ( tuxmi ) , манӣ ( mani )
Tamil: விந்து (ta) ( vintu )
Telugu: వీర్యము (te) ( vīryamu ) , రేతస్సు (te) ( rētassu )
Thai: อสุจิ (th) ( à-sù-jì ) , น้ำกาม (th) ( náam-gaam )
Tibetan: ཐིག་ལེ ( thig le )
Tocharian B: śukkär
Turkish: meni (tr) , sperm (tr) , döl (tr) , atmık (tr)
Ukrainian: спе́рма f ( spérma ) , сі́м'я f ( símʺja ) , еякуля́т m ( ejakulját ) , насі́ння (uk) n ( nasínnja )
Urdu: ویریہ m ( vīrya ) , منی
Uzbek: sperma (uz)
Vietnamese: tinh dịch (vi) (精液 )
Yiddish: זוימען ( zoymen )
Zazaki: sêmeni
semen (fluid)
— see sperm
See also
Anagrams
Asturian
Verb
semen
third-person plural present indicative of semar
third-person plural present subjunctive of semar
Catalan
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin sēmen .
Pronunciation
Noun
semen m (plural sèmens or sémens )
semen , sperm
Synonym: esperma
Further reading
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
semen
genitive plural of semeno
Indonesian
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Dutch cement ( “ cement ” ) , from Old French ciment , from Latin caementum ( “ quarry stone; stone chips for making mortar ” ) , from caedō ( “ I cut, hew ” ) . Cognate with Afrikaans sement ( “ cement ” ) . The sense “ cementum ” is a semantic loan from English cement .
Pronunciation
Noun
sêmèn
cement ( powdered substance )
cement , the layer of bone investing the root and neck of a tooth; cementum .
simen ( Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore )
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Learned borrowing from Latin sēmen ( “ semen, seed ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- ( “ to sow; plant ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
sèmèn
( medicine ) semen , the fluid, produced in male reproductive organs of an animal, that contains the reproductive cells.
Synonym: air mani
Further reading
Latin
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *sēmən , from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥ ( “ seed ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
sēmen n (genitive sēminis ) ; third declension
seed (of plants)
Sēmen manū spargere . ― To scatter seed by hand .
8 CE ,
Ovid ,
Fasti 5.221–222 :
‘prīma per immēnsās sparsī nova sēmina gentēs! ūnīus tellūs ante colōris erat.’ “First I scattered new seeds throughout countless nations! Previously the earth was of one color.” (The poetic voice is that of Flora (mythology) .)
semen
graft
offspring
cause
( poetic ) seed (of the elements of other bodies (of fire, water, stones, etc.))
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
Derived terms
Descendants
References
“semen ”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879 ) A Latin Dictionary , Oxford: Clarendon Press
“semen ”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891 ) An Elementary Latin Dictionary , New York: Harper & Brothers
semen in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894 ) Latin Phrase-Book , London: Macmillan and Co. the elements and first beginnings: elementa et tamquam semina rerum to sow: serere; semen spargere
Maltese
Etymology
From Arabic سَمْن ( samn ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
semen m
butter
Synonym: butir
Mauritian Creole
Etymology
From French chemin .
Noun
semen
road , street
References
Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. 1987. Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English sēman , from Proto-West Germanic *sōmijan , from Proto-Germanic *sōmijaną .
Pronunciation
Verb
semen (third-person singular simple present semeth , present participle semende , semynge , first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle semed )
( Early Middle English ) To sort out; to resolve , subdue , or confirm .
Conjugation
1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
References
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Old Norse sœma , from Proto-Germanic *sōmijaną , thus a doublet of Etymology 1.
Pronunciation
Verb
semen (third-person singular simple present semeth , present participle semende , semynge , first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle semed )
To seem ( to be ) ; to look or be perceived as.
14th Century , Chaucer , The Canterbury Tales , The Knight's Tale
The brighte swerdes wenten to and fro So hidously þat with þe leste strook That it semeþ þat it wolde felle an ook
To appear ; to become visible or discernible .
To believe or assume ; to develop a belief :
To deem or consider ; to form a judgement .
To consider to be appropriate ; to judge as suitable .
To be appropriate or right ; to suit or befit .
( rare ) To exist ; to be extant .
Conjugation
1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Descendants
References
Etymology 3
Inherited from Old English sīman , sēman , from Proto-West Germanic *saumijan ; equivalent to seem ( “ load ” ) + -en ( infinitival suffix ) .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈseːmən/ , /ˈsɛːmən/
Verb
semen (third-person singular simple present semeth , present participle semende , semynge , first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle semed )
To load up or with; to place upon .
( figuratively , rare ) To be burdensome or grievous .
Conjugation
infinitive
(to) semen , seme
present tense
past tense
1st-person singular
seme
semed , semde
2nd-person singular
semest
semedest , semdest
3rd-person singular
semeth
semed , semde
subjunctive singular
seme
imperative singular
—
plural 1
semen , seme
semeden , semede , semden , semde
imperative plural
semeth , seme
—
participles
semynge , semende
semed , ysemed
1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
References
Romanian
Etymology
Back-formation from semăna .
Noun
semen m (plural semeni )
fellow human
Declension
Seychellois Creole
Etymology
From French chemin .
Noun
semen
road , street
References
Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet, Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sēmen .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈsemen/
Rhymes: -emen
Syllabification: se‧men
Noun
semen m (uncountable )
semen , sperm
Mi amigo me preguntó si era saludable tragarse su propio semen . My friend asked me if it was healthy to swallow his own semen .
La última vez que estuve en un acto sexual yo era el semen . The last time I was in a sex act I was the semen .
Further reading
Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *seemen , from a Baltic language, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥ .
Noun
semen
seed
Inflection
Derived terms
References
Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007 ) “семя ”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary ] , Petrozavodsk: Periodika