Adjacent Words

Sperm definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPERM, n. [L. sperma.]
1. Animal seed; that by which the species is propagated.
2. The head matter of a certain species of whale, called cachalot. It is called by the French blanc de baleine, the white of whales. It is found also in other parts of the body; but it is improperly named, not being a spermatic substance. Of this matter are mad candles of a beautiful white color.
3. Spawn of fishes or frogs.
SPERMACE"TO, n. [L. sperma, sperm, and cetus, a whale. It is pronounced as it is written.] The same as sperm.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the male reproductive cell; the male gamete; "a sperm is mostly a nucleus surrounded by little other cellular material" [syn: sperm, sperm cell, spermatozoon, spermatozoan]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural sperm or sperms) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French esperme, sperme, from Late Latin spermat-, sperma, from Greek, literally, seed, from speirein to sow; probably akin to Armenian p'aratem I dispense Date: 14th century 1. a. semen b. a male gamete; especially spermatozoon 1 2. a product of the sperm whale

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. same or sperms) 1 = SPERMATOZOON. 2 the male reproductive fluid containing spermatozoa; semen. 3 = sperm whale. 4 = SPERMACETI. 5 = sperm oil. Phrases and idioms: sperm bank a supply of semen stored for use in artificial insemination. sperm count the number of spermatozoa in one ejaculation or a measured amount of semen. sperm oil an oil obtained from the head of a sperm whale, and used as a lubricant. sperm whale a large whale, Physeter macrocephalus, hunted for the spermaceti and sperm oil contained in its bulbous head, and for the ambergris found in its intestines: also called CACHALOT. Etymology: ME f. LL sperma f. Gk sperma -atos seed f. speiro sow: in sperm whale an abbr. of SPERMACETI

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gamete Gam"ete (g[a^]m"[=e]t; g[.a]*m[=e]t"; the latter usually in compounds), n. [Gr. gameth` wife, or game`ths husband, fr. gamei^n to marry.] (Biol.) A sexual cell or germ cell; a conjugating cell which unites with another of like or unlike character to form a new individual. In Bot., gamete designates esp. the similar sex cells of the lower thallophytes which unite by conjugation, forming a zygospore. The gametes of higher plants are of two sorts, sperm (male) and egg (female); their union is called fertilization, and the resulting zygote an o["o]spore. In Zo["o]l., gamete is most commonly used of the sexual cells of certain Protozoa, though also extended to the germ cells of higher forms.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sperm Sperm, n.[F. sperme, L. sperma, Gr. ???, ???, from ???? to sow. Cf. Spore.] (Physiol.) The male fecundating fluid; semen. See Semen. Sperm cell (Physiol.), one of the cells from which the spermatozoids are developed. Sperm morula. (Biol.) Same as Spermosphere.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sperm Sperm, n.[Contr. fr. spermaceti.] Spermaceti. Sperm oil, a fatty oil found as a liquid, with spermaceti, in the head cavities of the sperm whale. Sperm whale. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sperms, or sperm) 1. A sperm is a cell which is produced in the sex organs of a male animal and can enter a female animal's egg and fertilize it. Any disease which undermines a man's general health will interfere with his sperm production... Doctor believed that his low sperm count was the problem. N-COUNT 2. Sperm is used to refer to the liquid that contains sperm when it is produced. ...a sperm donor.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Semen, seed.

Moby Thesaurus

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