seminary

noun

sem·​i·​nary ˈse-mə-ˌner-ē 

plural seminaries

1

: an environment in which something originates and from which it is propagated

a seminary of vice and crime

2

a

: an institution of secondary or higher education

b

: an institution for the training of candidates for the priesthood, ministry, or rabbinate

Synonyms of seminary

• school

Examples of seminary in a Sentence

a seminary exclusively for women

some claimed that orphanages were seminaries of sin and petty crime, turning out juvenile delinquents by the score

Recent Examples on the Web

Stracke, who's also a mom to son James, 19, and daughter Porter, 24, revealed that her eldest son intends to enter a seminary and join the priesthood. — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026

The former seminary's crypt now houses the Wine Grotto. — Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2026

At the Dadar Athornan Institute, a boarding seminary for Zoroastrian boys, Ramiyar Karanjia gathers with his students to train the faith’s next generation of clergy. — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 21 June 2026

The Halki seminary, founded in 1844 and shut by the Turkish state in 1971, played a central role in ⁠the Eastern Orthodox Church as ​the Ecumenical ⁠Patriarchate’s main theological school. — Reuters, NBC news, 21 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, seedbed, nursery, from Latin seminarium, from semin-, semen seed

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seminary

• major seminary
• minor seminary

Rhymes for seminary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

Kids Definition

seminary

noun

sem·​i·​nary ˈsem-ə-ˌner-ē 

plural seminaries

1

: a private school at or above the high school level

2

: a school for the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis

Etymology

Middle English seminary "seedbed, nursery, from Latin seminarium (same meaning), from semen "seed"

Word Origin

The English word seminary and its Latin source seminarium, a derivative of semen, "seed," both originally denoted a nursery for young plants. Roman authors sometimes used the Latin word figuratively, but English has gone much further in extending the meaning of the word, while the old sense "nursery for plants" is now obsolete. The use of seminary in reference to training schools for Roman Catholic clergy dates from the 16th century. Today the word refers equally to Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish colleges for training priests, ministers, or rabbis. Seminary has also been applied to other kinds of schools. When they were first formed in the 19th century, colleges for women were called "female seminaries" or "seminaries for young ladies."