Standard Lemma guide

semen

name · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsiːmən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːmən
  • homophone: seaman
  • CMU ARPABET: S IY1 M AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A transliteration of the Ukrainian male given name Семе́н (Semén).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A sticky, milky fluid produced in male reproductive organs that contains the reproductive cells.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: seed, seminal fluid, ejaculate, cum, come

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liquid body substance, bodily fluid, body fluid, humor, humour

Narrower terms: milt

History

Etymology

From Middle English semen, from Latin sēmen (“seed”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh1- (“to sow; plant”).

Across languages

Translations

175 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: аӷьаӡ (ağjadz) — male reproductive fluid
  • Akkadian: riḫūtu — male reproductive fluid
  • Albanian: spermë — male reproductive fluid
  • Albanian: lëng seminal — male reproductive fluid
  • Arabic: مَنِيّ (maniyy) — male reproductive fluid
  • Arabic: مني (mani) — male reproductive fluid
  • Arabic: لبن (laban) — male reproductive fluid
  • Armenian: սերմ (serm) — male reproductive fluid
  • Armenian: սերմնահեղուկ (sermnaheġuk) — male reproductive fluid
  • Asturian: semen — male reproductive fluid
  • Azerbaijani: toxum — male reproductive fluid
  • Bashkir: мәней (məney) — male reproductive fluid
  • Bashkir: аталыҡ орлоғо (atalıq orloğo) — male reproductive fluid
  • Basque: hazi — male reproductive fluid
  • Belarusian: спе́рма (spjérma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Belarusian: се́мя (sjémja) — male reproductive fluid
  • Belarusian: кнура́ (knurá) — male reproductive fluid
  • Belarusian: насе́нне (nasjénnje) — male reproductive fluid
  • Bengali: বীর্য (birjo) — male reproductive fluid
  • Central Bikol: kasit — male reproductive fluid
  • Bulgarian: спе́рма (spérma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Bulgarian: семенна течност (semenna tečnost) — male reproductive fluid
  • Burmese: သုက် (suk) — male reproductive fluid
  • Burmese: သုက်ရည် (suk-rany) — male reproductive fluid
  • Catalan: esperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese Cantonese: 精液 — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese Cantonese: 精 (zing1) — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese: 精水 (cheng-chúi) — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese: 潲 (zh-min-nan) — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese Mandarin: 精液 (jīngyè) — male reproductive fluid
  • Chinese Mandarin: 㞞 /𪨊 (sóng) — male reproductive fluid
  • Czech: semeno — male reproductive fluid
  • Czech: ejakulát — male reproductive fluid
  • Czech: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Old Czech: chám — male reproductive fluid
  • Danish: sæd — male reproductive fluid
  • Dutch: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Dzongkha: ཐིག་ལེ (thig le) — male reproductive fluid
  • Egyptian: mt:t-w-t:D53 (mtwt) — male reproductive fluid
  • Esperanto: ejakulaĵo — male reproductive fluid
  • Esperanto: spermo — male reproductive fluid
  • Estonian: seemnevedelik — male reproductive fluid
  • Estonian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Faroese: sáð — male reproductive fluid
  • Faroese: spin — male reproductive fluid
  • Finnish: siemenneste — male reproductive fluid
  • Finnish: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • French: semence — male reproductive fluid
  • French: sperme — male reproductive fluid
  • Galician: seme — male reproductive fluid
  • Gamilaraay: barabin — male reproductive fluid
  • Georgian: სპერმა (sṗerma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Georgian: თესლი (tesli) — male reproductive fluid
  • German: Samen — male reproductive fluid
  • German: Sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Greek: σπέρμα (spérma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Ancient Greek: θορός (thorós) — male reproductive fluid
  • Greenlandic: anisooq — male reproductive fluid
  • Greenlandic: peersaq — male reproductive fluid
  • Gujarati: વીર્ય (vīrya) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hebrew: זֶרַע (zera') — male reproductive fluid
  • Hebrew: זִרְמָה (zirma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: वीर्य (vīrya) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: शुक्र (śukra) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: बीज (bīj) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: धात (dhāt) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: धातु (dhātu) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: मनी (manī) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hindi: रेतस् (retas) — male reproductive fluid
  • Hungarian: ondó — male reproductive fluid
  • Icelandic: sæði — male reproductive fluid
  • Icelandic: sáð — male reproductive fluid
  • Icelandic: sáðvökvi — male reproductive fluid
  • Icelandic: brundur — male reproductive fluid
  • Indonesian: air mani — male reproductive fluid
  • Indonesian: semen — male reproductive fluid
  • Indonesian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Irish: seamhan — male reproductive fluid
  • Irish: síol — male reproductive fluid
  • Italian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Italian: seme — male reproductive fluid
  • Japanese: 精液 (seieki) — male reproductive fluid
  • Japanese: ザーメン (zāmen) — male reproductive fluid
  • Karok: síshaf — male reproductive fluid
  • Kazakh: ұрық (ūryq) — male reproductive fluid
  • Kazakh: шәует (şäuet) — male reproductive fluid
  • Khmer: ទឹកកាម (tɨk kaam) — male reproductive fluid
  • Korean: 정액 (jeong'aek) — male reproductive fluid
  • Korean: 좆물 (jonmul) — male reproductive fluid
  • Central Kurdish: تۆواو (towaw) — male reproductive fluid
  • Northern Kurdish: tovav — male reproductive fluid
  • Kyrgyz: сперма (sperma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Lao: ອະສຸຈິ (ʼa su chi) — male reproductive fluid
  • Lao: ນ້ໍາກາມ (nam kām) — male reproductive fluid
  • Latin: sēmen — male reproductive fluid
  • Latvian: sēkla — male reproductive fluid
  • Latvian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Lithuanian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Lithuanian: sėkla — male reproductive fluid
  • Macedonian: сперма (sperma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Malay: mani — male reproductive fluid
  • Malayalam: ശുക്ലം (śuklaṁ) — male reproductive fluid
  • Maltese: liba — male reproductive fluid
  • Manchu: ᠣᠣᡵᡳ (oori) — male reproductive fluid
  • Māori: waitātea — male reproductive fluid
  • Marathi: रेत (ret) — male reproductive fluid
  • Middle English: seed — male reproductive fluid
  • Navajo: íígąsh — male reproductive fluid
  • Norwegian: sæd — male reproductive fluid
  • Persian: منی (mani) — male reproductive fluid
  • Persian: اسپرم (esperm) — male reproductive fluid
  • Middle Persian: šuhr — male reproductive fluid
  • Polish: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Polish: nasienie — male reproductive fluid
  • Portuguese: sêmen — male reproductive fluid
  • Portuguese: sémen — male reproductive fluid
  • Romanian: spermă — male reproductive fluid
  • Russian: се́мя (sémja) — male reproductive fluid
  • Russian: спе́рма (spérma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Russian: эякуля́т (ejakulját) — male reproductive fluid
  • Russian: молофья́ (molofʹjá) — male reproductive fluid
  • Inari-Sami: siemâkolgos — male reproductive fluid
  • Northern Sami: siemagolggus — male reproductive fluid
  • Skolt-Sami: siõmkoolǥâs — male reproductive fluid
  • Sanskrit: रेतस् (retas) — male reproductive fluid
  • Serbo-Croatian: sjeme — male reproductive fluid
  • Serbo-Croatian: ejakulat — male reproductive fluid
  • Serbo-Croatian: svršotina — male reproductive fluid
  • Serbo-Croatian: сперма — male reproductive fluid
  • Serbo-Croatian: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Shan: ၼမ်ႉၸိူဝ်ႉ (nâ̰m tsô̰e) — male reproductive fluid
  • Slovak: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Slovak: semeno — male reproductive fluid
  • Slovene: séme — male reproductive fluid
  • Slovene: spêrma — male reproductive fluid
  • Spanish: semen — male reproductive fluid
  • Spanish: simiente — male reproductive fluid
  • Sumerian: 𒀀 (a) — male reproductive fluid
  • Swahili: shahawa — male reproductive fluid
  • Swahili: manii — male reproductive fluid
  • Swedish: säd — male reproductive fluid
  • Swedish: sädesvätska — male reproductive fluid
  • Swedish: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Swedish: sagge — male reproductive fluid
  • Tagalog: punlay — male reproductive fluid
  • Tagalog: tabod — male reproductive fluid
  • Tagalog: tamod — male reproductive fluid
  • Tagalog: semilya — male reproductive fluid
  • Tagalog: danupunlay — male reproductive fluid
  • Tajik: тухмӣ (tuxmi) — male reproductive fluid
  • Tajik: манӣ (mani) — male reproductive fluid
  • Tamil: விந்து (vintu) — male reproductive fluid
  • Telugu: వీర్యము (vīryamu) — male reproductive fluid
  • Telugu: రేతస్సు (rētassu) — male reproductive fluid
  • Thai: อสุจิ (à-sù-jì) — male reproductive fluid
  • Thai: น้ํากาม (náam-gaam) — male reproductive fluid
  • Tibetan: ཐིག་ལེ (thig le) — male reproductive fluid
  • Tocharian B: śukkär — male reproductive fluid
  • Tsou: nan'i — male reproductive fluid
  • Turkish: meni — male reproductive fluid
  • Turkish: sperm — male reproductive fluid
  • Turkish: döl — male reproductive fluid
  • Turkish: atmık — male reproductive fluid
  • Ukrainian: спе́рма (spérma) — male reproductive fluid
  • Ukrainian: сі́м'я (símʺja) — male reproductive fluid
  • Ukrainian: еякуля́т (ejakulját) — male reproductive fluid
  • Ukrainian: насі́ння (nasínnja) — male reproductive fluid
  • Urdu: ویریہ (vīrya) — male reproductive fluid
  • Urdu: منی — male reproductive fluid
  • Uzbek: sperma — male reproductive fluid
  • Vietnamese: tinh dịch — male reproductive fluid
  • Welsh: semen — male reproductive fluid
  • Welsh: had — male reproductive fluid
  • Yiddish: זוימען (zoymen) — male reproductive fluid
  • Zazaki: sêmeni — male reproductive fluid