from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Seminal \Sem"i*nal\, a. [L. seminalis, fr. semen, seminis, seed,
akin to serere to sow: cf. F. seminal. See {Sow} to scatter
seed.]
1. Pertaining to, containing, or consisting of, seed or
semen; as, the seminal fluid.
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2. Contained in seed.
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3. Hence: Holding the first place in a series of developed
results or consequents; serving as a source, or first
principle; giving rise to related ideas or results;
germinal; radical; primary; original; as, seminal
principles of generation; seminal virtue; a seminal
discovery.
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The idea of God is, beyond all question or
comparison, the one great seminal principle. --Hare.
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{Seminal leaf} (Bot.), a seed leaf, or cotyleden.
{Seminal receptacle}. (Zool.) Same as {Spermatheca}.
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