from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Seminary \Sem"i*na*ry\, n.; pl. {Seminaries}. [L. seminarium,
fr. seminarius belonging to seed, fr. semon, seminis, seed.
See {Seminal}.]
1. A piece of ground where seed is sown for producing plants
for transplantation; a nursery; a seed plat. [Obs.]
--Mortimer.
[1913 Webster]
But if you draw them [seedling] only for the
thinning of your seminary, prick them into some
empty beds. --Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, the place or original stock whence anything is
brought or produced. [Obs.] --Woodward.
[1913 Webster]
3. A place of education, as a scool of a high grade, an
academy, college, or university.
[1913 Webster]
4. Seminal state. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.
[1913 Webster]
5. Fig.: A seed bed; a source. [Obs.] --Harvey.
[1913 Webster]
6. A Roman Catholic priest educated in a foreign seminary; a
seminarist. [Obs.] --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]