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

The Back To Black 20 concert will take place at the Roundhouse in Winehouse’s native Camden on October 21, just days before the 20th anniversary of her seminal second album. — Nick Reilly, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026

With its lines based on the seminal Air Max sneaker from 1987, the Air Max 1000 launched in late-2024 and has sold out through each drop. — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026

His hire would turn out to be a seminal moment in the history of Trojan football. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

Clark Kent, as well as Irv Gotti, were seminal figures in this Roc-A-Fella story. — Alex Gonzalez, VIBE.com, 18 Sep. 2026

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

Rhymes for seminal

• trigeminal

Medical Definition

seminal

adjective

sem·​i·​nal ˈsem-ən-ᵊl 

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

seminal discharge