Seminal

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛmɪnəl/

Definitions

1. Exercising major formative impact on future developments while also being connected to male reproductive function or substances
2. Having a powerful influence that shapes future ideas or developments ; pertaining to the fluid containing sperm produced by males
3. Significantly groundbreaking in its effect on subsequent events or concepts ; associated with the male reproductive fluid involved in fertilization

Etymology: Seminal began as a plain biological word. Latin "sēmen" meant "seed," and "sēminālis" was the adjective for anything relating to seed. English borrowed it through Old French "seminal" and Middle English "seminal" or "semynal," so for centuries it mostly described seed, semen, and the processes of reproduction, with the sense of "bearing seed" or "in the seed" dominating. The figurative sense grew from that literal root. Something seminal was like a seed: small in itself, but the source from which much else develops. A seminal idea, book, or event is one whose influence spreads outward into later work, which is why the word now praises thinkers and works rather than plants or animals.

Synonyms: influential, original

Antonyms: derivative