Spermatogeneses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The biological process by which male germ cells develop into sperm cells
2. The series of maturation steps involving spermatogonial stem cells leading to mature spermatozoa
3. A complex sequence of cellular divisions and transformations resulting in the formation of sperm in male organisms

Etymology: Spermatogeneses is simply the plural of "spermatogenesis," a noun built from two Greek-derived parts: "spermato-," from Greek "sperma" meaning seed, and "-genesis," from Greek "genesis" meaning origin or coming into being. Put together, the term describes the production of seed, the process by which male germ cells mature into sperm. The plural form follows the Greek pattern of nouns ending in "-sis," which keep the same form in the plural, so "genesis" becomes "geneses" and the same logic extends to the compound. Biologists use the plural when discussing more than one such process, such as spermatogenesis in different species or stages of development.