seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈse-mə-nᵊl 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen

seminal discharge

2

: containing or contributing the seeds of later development : creative, original

a seminal book

seminally

ˈse-mə-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of seminal in a Sentence

Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2000 for his seminal observation that it was in the action of the synapses between cells that memory existed, not in the cells themselves, and that a molecule called cyclic AMP was what allowed cells to retain memory over the long term. —Michael Greenberg, New York Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2008

Writer Susan Sontag died December 28 at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. She left behind an impressive body of fiction and criticism, including her seminal 1960s essays "Notes on Camp" and "Against Interpretation." —Allan Gurganus, Advocate, 1 Feb. 2005

I wonder if the curators who organized "Matisse Picasso" ever asked themselves why it was that Alfred H. Barr Jr., the first director of the Museum of Modern Art and the guiding spirit behind the museum's seminal exhibitions of both Picasso and Matisse, never mounted a show like the one that has now arrived at MoMA QNS. Such an exhibition might seem to be logical, almost inevitable for the Museum of Modern Art. —Jed Perl, New Republic, 3 Mar. 2003

Recent Examples on the Web

Adam Back, cofounder and CEO of bitcoin technology firm Blockstream, is well-known for having communications with Satoshi Nakamoto before the pseudonymous bitcoin creator wrote his seminal white paper in 2008. —Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Then Billboard was cited when describing T.I.’s seminal 2003 Trap Muzik album as an introduction of trap music to the masses, but the contestants were stumped and couldn’t identify who the rapper-actor is despite a photo of him accompanying the clue. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024

Simone Leigh, the seminal sculptor whose first survey exhibition is on at LACMA until January 20, was introduced on stage by philanthropist Bryan Stevenson, who recounted traveling to Venice for the first time in his life to see her 2022 Biennale exhibition. —Mark Guiducci, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2024

With six Academy Award-winners among the notable artists participating, including Emma Thompson and Vanessa Redgrave, the documentary provides new and compelling perspectives on a unique partnership that produced seminal films over four decades. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin seminalis, from semin-, semen seed — more at semen

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seminal

• seminal duct
• seminal fluid
• seminal vesicle

Medical Definition

seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈsem-ən-ᵊl 

: of, relating to, or consisting of seed or semen

seminal discharge