Insemination

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of placing sperm in the female reproductive system to enable fertilization occurs when male gametes are introduced into an ovum
2. The act of depositing sperm into the female reproductive tract to facilitate the beginning of pregnancy
3. A procedure where sperm cells are placed inside the female to promote fertilization and conception

Etymology: Before it described animal breeding or human fertility, this word's ancestor meant simply sowing seed into the ground. It comes from Latin "inseminare," built from "in," meaning "into," and "seminare," meaning "to sow," which derives from "semen," seed. The same root gave English "seminal" and "seminary," a place where learning was planted. English likely borrowed the word with that farming sense intact. The later biological meaning, placing male gametes into a female, is a metaphor that kept the image of the planter at work.

Synonyms: fertilization, impregnation, inseminating, seed, conception

Antonyms: infertility, sterility, barrenness, impotence, inability