Etymology

sperm

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Today it means: The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon. Full definition →

Middle English sperme ← Latin sperma ← Ancient Greek σπέρμα
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromσπέρμα“seed, semen”
  2. Latin · derived fromsperma
  3. Middle English · inherited fromsperme
  4. English todaysperm

From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekσπέρμα all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.