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sperm¹

(spûrm)

n. pl. sperm or sperms

1. A male gamete, such as a spermatozoon of an animal or one of the cells or nuclei produced by a pollen grain of a plant. Also called sperm cell.

2. Semen.

[Middle English sperme, semen, from Old French esperme, from Late Latin sperma, from Greek; see sper- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

spermous adj.

sperm²

(spûrm)

A substance, such as spermaceti, obtained from a sperm whale.

[Short for SPERMACETI.]

sperm- or sperma-

pref.

Variants of spermi-.

-sperm

suff.

Seed: endosperm.

[Greek -spermos, from sperma, seed; see SPERM¹.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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