seed
pronunciation
How to pronounce seed in British English:
UK [siːd]
How to pronounce seed in American English:
US [siːd]
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- Noun:
- a small hard fruit
- a mature fertilized plant ovule consisting of an embryo and its food source and having a protective coat or testa
- one of the outstanding players in a tournament
- anything that provides inspiration for later work
- the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
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- Verb:
- go to seed; shed seeds
- help (an enterprise) in its early stages of development by providing seed money
- bear seeds
- place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth
- distribute (players or teams) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early rounds
- sprinkle with silver iodide particles to disperse and cause rain
- inoculate with microorganisms
- remove the seeds from
Word Origin
- seed
- seed: [OE] Seed is a general Germanic word, related to German saat, Dutch zaad, Swedish söd, and Danish sæd. Their common ancestor was Germanic *sǣthiz. This was formed from the base *sǣ-, which produced English sow and went back ultimately to Indo-European *sē-, source of English disseminate [17], season, semen [18], and seminar [19].=> disseminate, season, semen, seminar
- seed (v.)
- late 14c., "to flower, flourish; produce seed;" mid-15c., "to sow with seed," from seed (n.). Meaning "remove the seeds from" is from 1904. Sporting (originally tennis) sense (1898) is from notion of spreading certain players' names so as to ensure they will not meet early in a tournament. The noun in this sense is attested from 1924. Related: Seeded; seeding.
- seed (n.)
- Old English sed, sæd "that which may be sown; an individual grain of seed; offspring, posterity," from Proto-Germanic *sediz "seed" (cognates: Old Norse sað, Old Saxon sad, Old Frisian sed, Middle Dutch saet, Old High German sat, German Saat), from PIE *se-ti- "sowing," from root *se- (1) "to sow" (see sow (v.)). Figurative use in Old English. Meaning "offspring, progeny" rare now except in biblical use. Meaning "semen" is from c. 1300. For sporting sense, see seed (v.).
Synonym
stems offspring daughters heirs issue cuttings calves family successors descendants plantlets lineage offsets sprigs progeny succession offshoots apparent posterity scions sprouts shoots sons chicks children progeniture
basis motivating motivation root reason start source germ wellspring factor motive beginning cause origin
Example
- 1. You need to expect god to multiply your seed .
- 2. Bakers use this nutty-flavored seed mainly to add flavor and fiber .
- 3. Whatever you do , don 't let them set seed .
- 4. The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin .
- 5. In fact , they didn 't taste much different from the seed oils .