semi-menstrual 
semi-menstrual (sem-i-mon'stri.i-iil), . [< Ij- 
ttrmi-, halt', + menstruate, monthly.] Half- 
monthly: specifically noting an inequality of 
the tide which goes through its changes every 
hall'-month. 
semi-metal (sem-i-met'al), H. In old ahem., a 
metiilthat is not malleable, as bismuth, arsenic, 
antimony, zinc, etc. The semi-metals were at flrst 
called " bastards " of the metals proper: thus, antimony 
was considered to be the bastard of lead, bismuth of tin, 
etc. The number, character, and relations of the semi- 
metals were quite differently given by the older chemists : 
lioerhave classed various ores among them : Brandt (1735) 
made them six in number namely, quicksilver, antimony, 
bismuth, cobalt, arsenic, and zinc. His putting cobalt (a 
malleable and ductile metal) among the semi-metals was 
due to the fact that the nature of this metal was only very 
imperfectly known at that time. 
semi-metallic (sem"i-me-tarik), a. Pertaining 
to or having the character of a semi-metal ; im- 
perfectly metallic in character. 
semi-metamorphosis (sem-i-met-a-mor'fo-sis), 
H. In entom., same as demi-metamorphosis. See 
also hemintftaboly. 
semiminim (sem'i-min-im), H. [< ML. semi- 
minima; as semi- + minim.'] In medieval mu- 
sical notation, same as crotchet, or, with a hook 
added to the sign, same as quaver, the former 
being called major, the latter minor. 
semiminima (sem-i-miii'i-ma), n. Same as 
semi mini >n. 
semimonthly (sem-i-rminth'li), a. Occurring 
twice in each month. 
semi-mute (sem-i-muf), . and H. I. a. Noting 
a person who, owing to the loss of the sense of 
hearing, has lost also to a great extent the fac- 
ulty of speech, or who, owing to congenital deaf- 
ness, has never perfectly acquired that faculty. 
II. . A person thus affected. 
seminal (sem'i-nal), a. and . [< OF. seminal, 
F. seminal = Pr. Sp. Pg. seminal = It. seminale, 
< L. seminaHs, relating to seed, < semen (semin-), 
seed: see semen.'] I. a. 1. Of or pertaining to 
seed or semen or the elements of reproduction. 
2. Containing the seed or elements of repro- 
duction ; germinal: as, seminal principles. 
The Spirit of God produced them [whales] then, and es- 
tablished, and conserves ever since, that seminal power 
which we call nature, to produce all creatures ... in a 
perpetual succession. fjonne, Sermons, xxix. 
3. Rudimentary; original; primary. 
These are very imperfect rudiments of " Paradise Lost "; 
but it is pleasant to see great works in their seminal state, 
pregnant with latent possibilities of excellence. 
Johnson, Milton. 
Seminal animalcule, a spermatozoon. Seminal cap- 
sule. Same as vesieula seminalis. Seminal cartridge, 
seminal rope, In cephalopods. See spermatophore. 
Seminal cyst, a cyst of the testicle near the epididymis. 
Seminal fluid, semen. Seminal leaf. Same as seed- 
leaf or cotyledon. Seminal receptacle. See gpenna- 
theca. Seminal vesicle. Same as vesicula seminalis. 
II. t " A seed; a seminal or rudimentary 
element. 
The seminals of other iniquities. 
Sir T. Broime, Christ. Mor., iii. 4. 
seminality (sem-i-nal'i-ti), . [< seminal + 
-ity."\ Seminal, germinal, or reproductive qual- 
ity or principle. 
There was a seminality and contracted Adam in the rib, 
which, by the information of a soul, was individuated into 
Eve. Sir T. Browne, Vnlg. Err., vi. 1. 
[For explanation of this extract, see theory of incasement 
(under incasemeiit), and spermist.] 
seminally (sem'i-nal-i), adr. As a seed, germ, 
or reproductive element ; as regards germs or 
germination. 
Presbyters can conferre no more upon any of Bishop 
than is radically, seminally, and eminently in themselves. 
Bp. Oauden, Tears of the Church, p. 470. (Daws.) 
It is the same God that we know and love, here and 
there ; and with a knowledge and love that is of the same 
nature seminally. Baxter, Divine Life, i. 1. 
seminar (sem-i-nar'), . [< G. seminar, < L. 
srminariuin, a seed-plot: see seminary.] Same 
as xriniiiriry, 5. 
seminarian (sem-i-na'ri-an), ti. [< seminary + 
-an.~] Same as seminarist. 
seminarist (sem'i-na-rist), n. [< F. scminariste 
= Sp. Pg. It. seminarista = D. G. Sw. Dan. semi- 
narist; as seminar-y + -i$t.~] A member of a 
seminary ; specifically, a Roman Catholic priest 
educated in a foreign seminary. 
Seminarists now come from Rome to pervert souls. 
Sheldon, Miracles (1816), p. 170. (Latham.) 
seminary (sem'i-na-ri), a. and . [I. a. = Pg. 
It. seminario, < L. seminarian, of or pertaining 
to seed, < semen (scmin-), seed: see semen. II. 
. < ME. xfiiii/nairie, < OF. tteminairc, F. m'-mi- 
n/iire = Sp. Pg. It. Kciniiiiiriti, a seed-plot, a 
seminary, = G. seminar, a seminary, < L. xciui- 
imriiim, a seed-plot, nursery-garden, NL. a 
5485 
school, seminary, neut. ofscminarius, of or per- 
taining to seed:' see I.] I. a. 1. Of or pertain- 
ing to seed or semen ; seminal. 
They [detractors] so comprehend those seminarie ver- 
tues to men vnknown that those things which, in course 
of time or by growing degrees, Nature of itself e can effect, 
they, by their art and skil in hastning the works of Na- 
ture, can contriue and compasse in a moment. 
Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, p. 76. 
Seminary vessels, both preparatory and ejaculatory. 
J. Smith, On Old Age (1666), p. 117. 
2. Of or pertaining to a seminary (def. II., 3): 
said of a Roman Catholic priest. 
In 1584, a law was enacted, enjoining all Jesuits, semi- 
nary priests, and other priests, whetherordained within or 
without the kingdom, to depart from it within forty days, 
on pain of being adjudged traitors. 
Hallam, Hist. Eng., I. 153. 
3. Of or pertaining to a seminary (def. II., 5) : 
as, a seminary course. 
II. n.; pi. seminaries (-riz). If. A seed-plot; 
ground where seed is sown for producing plants 
for transplantation; a nursery: now only in 
figurative use. 
But in the gemynairie moost thai roote 
With dounge and moolde admixt unto thaire roote. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 78. 
Some, at the flrst transplanting trees out of their semi- 
naries, cut them otf about an inch from the ground, and 
plant them like quickset. Mortimer, Husbandry. 
That precious trainment [art] is miserably abused which 
should be the fountain of skill, the root of virtue, the 
seminary of government, the foundation of all private and 
public good. G. Honey, Four Letters. 
Figuratively 2. The original place or original 
stock whence anything is brought. 
But the Arke preuaileth ouer the preuailing waters, a 
figure of the Church, the remnant of the Church, the rem- 
nant of the elder and Seminarie of the new world. 
Purehas, Pilgrimage, p. 40. 
Whoever shall look into the seminary and beginnings 
of the monarchies of this world he shall find them founded 
on poverty. Bacon, Speech for Naturalization (Works, 
[ed. Spedding, X. 324). 
The council chamber at Edinburgh had been, during a 
quarter of a century, a seminary of all public and private 
vices. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
3. A place of education; any school, academy, 
college, or university in which persons (espe- 
cially the young) are instructed in the several 
branches of learning which may qualify them 
for their future employments; specifically, a 
school for the education of men for the priest- 
hood or ministry. 
Certaine other Schooles in the towne farre remote from 
this Colledge, which serueth for another Seminary to in- 
struct their Nouices. Coryat, Crudities, I. 68. 
He [Cardinal Allen] procur'd & Seminary to be set up in 
Doway for the English. Baker, Chronicles, p. 381. 
I closed the course at our Seminary here just two weeks 
before you returned. W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 33. 
4. A seminary priest ; a Roman Catholic priest 
educated in a seminary, especially a foreign 
one ; a seminarist. 
Able Christians should rather turne Jesuites and Semi- 
naries than run into Convents and Frieries. 
If. Ward, Simple Cobler, p. 46. 
A while agone, they made me, yea me, to mistake an 
honest zealous pursuivant for a seminary. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. 1. 
Of a long time I have not only been supposed a Papist, 
but a seminary, a Jesuit, an emissary of Rome. 
Penn, Speech, March 22, 1878. 
5 . In some universities and institutions, a group 
of advanced students pursuing some branch by 
real research, the writing of theses, etc. ; also, 
the course of study engaged in by such stu- 
dents ; a seminary course : imitated from Ger- 
man use. Also seminar. 
seminate (sem'i-nat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. gem- 
inated, ppr. geminating. [< L. seminatus, pp. 
of seminare, sow, engender, also beget, bring 
forth, produce, propagate, < semen (semin-), 
seed: see semen. Cf. disseminate."] To sow; 
spread; propagate; inseminate; disseminate. 
Thus all were doctors who flrst seminated learning in 
the world by special instinct and direction of God. 
Waterhouse, Apology, p. 19. (Latham.) 
Sir Thomas More, and others who had intended to sem- 
inate, engender, and breed among the people and sub- 
jects of the King a most mischievous and seditious opin- 
ion. K. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., iv. 
semination (sem-i-na'shon), n. [= F. semina- 
tion = It. seminazione, seminagione, < L. semi- 
natio(n-), a sowing, propagation, < seminare. 
?p. xeHiinalits, sow, propagate: see seminate.'] 
. The act of sowing ; the act of disseminating ; 
insemination. 
If the place you sow in be too cold for an autumnal 
semination. Evelyn. 
semiology 
Thus thay enduring in lust and delyte 
The spreetcs of tham gat that -vere gyauntes tyte, 
With the nature of themeselves and syminacion, 
Thay wer brought forthe by there ymaginacion. 
MS. Lansaomie 208, f. 2. (Ilalliwell.) 
3. In hot., the natural dispersion of seeds; the 
process of seeding. 
seminet, r. t. [= F. semer = It. seminare, < L. 
seminare, sow, < semen (.//-), seed: see sem- 
inate.] To sow; scatter. 
Her garments blue, and semined with stars. 
B. Jonson, Masque of Hymen. 
2f. Propagation; breeding. 
Seminiferous (sem-i-nif'e-rus), . [< L. 
(KCIHIII-), seed, + ferre = 'E.bear 1 .'] 1. Seed- 
bearing; producing seed. 2. Serving to carry 
semen; containing or conveying the seminal 
fluid Seminiferous scale, in bot., a scale above the 
bract-scale in the Coniferie, upon which the ovules, and 
ultimately the seeds, are placed. 
seminific (sem-i-nif 'ik), a. [< L. semen (semin-), 
seed (see semen}, + -fivus, < faeere, make (see 
-fie)."] Producing semen ; forming the seminal 
fluid. 
seminifical (sem-i-nif'i-kal), a. [< seminific + 
-al.~\ Same as seminific. 
seminification (sem-i-nif-i-ka'shon), n. [< L. 
semen (semin-), seed, + -ficatio(n-), < faeere, 
make.] Propagation from the seed or seminal 
parts. Sir M. Hale, Orig. of Mankind. [Rare.] 
seminist (sem'i-nist), n. [< L. semen (semin-), 
seed, + -ist.] In biol., one who believes that 
the embryo is formed from admixture of male 
semen with the so-called seed of the female. The 
theory is an old one, and in its original form was crude ; 
in its present exact form, it declares one of the most fun- 
damental and comprehensive of biological facts, and has 
been minutely worked out in detail by embryologists. The 
use of the word ovum for seed would adapt the old theory to 
the most exacting of modern conceptions respecting the 
parts taken by the male and female elements of generation. 
A seminist is in no sense to be confounded with a spermist 
(which see). See also nucleus, pronwdeus,/eminonudeus, 
mascttlonucleus, gamete, gamogenesis, generation, repro- 
duction, eggl, ovum, spermatozoon, and sex. 
Seminole (sem'i-nol). n. and a. [Ind. (Flor- 
ida).] I. H. A member of a tribe of Amer- 
ican Indians, allied to the Creeks, and formerly 
resident in Florida. They were defeated by United 
States troops in two wars, 1S17-18 and 1835-42, and the 
greater part are now on reservations in the Indian Terri- 
tory, though a small number still inhabit some parts of 
Florida. 
II. a. Of or relating to the Seminoles. 
semi-nude (sem-i-nud'), a. [< L. semintultis, 
half-naked, < semi-, half, + nudus, naked: see 
nude.] Half-naked. 
seminulum (se-min'u-lum), .; pi. seminula 
(-la). [NL., dim. of L. semen (semin-), seed: 
see semen."] A little seed; a spore. 
seniinvariant (sem-in-va'ri-ant), n. [< sem(i)- 
+ invariant.] A function of the coefficients of 
a binary quantic which remains unaltered but 
for a constant factor when x + Us substituted 
for x, but not when ;/ + I is substituted for y. 
A seniinvariant is the leading coefficient of a covariant. 
Otherwise called peninvariant. 
seminvariantive (sem-in-ya'ri-an-tiv), a. [< 
seniinvariant + -ive."] Having tie character of 
a seminvariant. 
seminymph (sem'i-nimf), n. The nymph or 
pupa of an insect which undergoes only semi- 
metamorphosis; a hemimetabolic nymph; a 
propupa. 
semi-ODSCUre (sem"i-ob-skur'), a. In entom., 
noting the wings of hymenopterous or other in- 
sects when they are deeply tinged with brownish 
gray, but semidiaphanous or semi-transparent. 
semi-official (sem'i-o-fish'al), a. Partly official ; 
having some degree of official authority; made 
upon information from those who have official 
knowledge: as, a semi-official confirmation of a 
report ; a semi-official organ. 
semi-officially (sem"i-o-fish'al-i), adv. With 
semi-official authority; as if from official 
sources or with official authority; in a semi- 
official manner: as, it is semi-officially an- 
nounced; the statement is made semi-officially. 
semiography, semeiography (se-mi-og'ra-fi), 
n. [<T Gr. arjfieiov, a mark, a trace, + -;pa0m, < 
ypd<l>eiv, write.] The doctrine of signs in gener- 
al; specifically, inpatliol., a description of the 
marks or symptoms of diseases. 
semiologic, semeiologic (se'mi-g-loj'ik), a. [< 
xcniiolog-y + -ic.~\ Same as semiologieal. 
semioldgical, semeiological (se"'mi-o-loj'i- 
kal), a. [< mminliMiie + -J.] Relating to se- 
miology, or the doctrine of signs ; specifically, 
pertaining to the symptoms of diseases. Also 
semioloi/ii: .inneiiilogit: 
semiology, semeiology (se-mi-ol'o-ji), H. [For- 
merly improp. sennmOgg ' ^ ^ r - wwf'w, a mark, 
