semina

Semina is the plural form of semen, the English borrowing of Latin sēmen, meaning “seed.” In reproductive contexts, it can refer to portions or samples of male reproductive fluid, but modern writers usually say semen or sperm rather than semina. Botanical and other scientific English retains the Latin plural semina to mean “seeds,” as in a description of minute plant or fungal reproductive bodies. The form is therefore uncommon and strongly marked as learned or technical rather than part of ordinary vocabulary. Knowing semina clarifies an important difference between the singular and plural while also explaining why the word can look like a separate substance to modern readers. Its history also preserves a recognizable Latin pattern: several Latin nouns ending in -men form plurals in -mina, although semina itself is the established English plural rather than an independently inflected modern noun.

Semina is the plural form of semen, the male reproductive fluid containing sperm. In botanical and other scientific contexts, it refers to seeds.

Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Where does semina come from?

Semina comes through the English word semen, borrowed from Latin sēmen, meaning “seed,” with a genitive sēminis and plural semina. The Latin plural was retained in English for scientific and botanical usage. Related English words include seminal, from Latin sēminālis, and seminary, through Latin sēminārium, originally a “seedbed”; disseminate also ultimately derives from the same Latin root.

How semina is actually used

Semina is uncommon in ordinary modern English. Writers normally use semen or sperm in reproductive contexts and seeds in botanical contexts; semina is chiefly encountered in scientific or Latinate writing.

Easily confused with semina