sperm

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle French sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (sperma, “seed, semen”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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• (US) IPA: /spɜːɹm/
• (UK) IPA: /spɜːm/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)m

Noun

sperm (countable and uncountable; plural sperm or sperms)

1. (uncountable) Semen; the generative substance of male animals.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:

     Other Nations there are, that never have use of fire; Others, whose sperme is of a blacke colour.

   • 2012, Sarah Whitehouse, The Guardian, 13 Apr 2012:

     Seeing the two little moving cells – the result of her egg and Luke's sperm – was incredible, and two very long weeks later the clinic confirmed I was pregnant.

2. (cytology) The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
3. (chemistry) sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.

Synonyms

• spermatozoon
• sperm cell
• cum

Hypernyms

• gamete

Derived terms

• asthenospermic
• sperm cell
• sperm count
• sperm whale
• spermatheca
• spermatocyte
• spermicidal
• spermicide
• spermous

Translations

cell

• Arabic: نطفة (ar) (núṭfa) f, حيوان منوي (ar) (ḥayawan manawi) m

  Egyptian Arabic: حيوان منوي (ḥayawan manawi) m

• Armenian: սպերմատոզոիդ (hy) (spermatozoid), սերմնաբջիջ (hy) (sermnabǰiǰ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精子 (cmn) (jīngzǐ)

• Czech: spermie (cs) f
• Danish: sæd (da) c
• Dutch: spermacel
• Estonian: seemnerakk
• Finnish: siittiö (fi)
• French: spermatozoïde (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Spermium (de) n, Samenzelle (de) f
• Greek: σπερματοζωάριο (el) (spermatozoário) n (spermatozoário)

• Hebrew: זרעון (he) (zir'on) m
• Hindi: शुक्राणु (hi) (śukrāṇu) m
• Japanese: 精子 (ja) (せいし, seishi)
• Kazakh: шауһат (kk) (şawhat)
• Korean: 정자 (ko) (jeongja) (精子 (ko))
• Malay: sperma (ms)
• Persian: اسپرماتوزئید (fa) (espermâtozo'id)
• Polish: plemnik (pl) m
• Russian: сперматозоид (ru) (spermatozóid) m
• Spanish: esperma (es) f
• Thai: สเปิร์ม (th) (sà bperm)
• Vietnamese: tinh trùng (vi)
• Welsh: sberm (cy) m

semen (fluid)

• Arabic: نطفة (ar) (núTfa) f, مني (ar) (maniy) m
• Armenian: սերմ (hy) (serm), սերմնահեղուկ (hy) (sermnaheġuk), սպերմա (hy) (sperma)
• Belarusian: сперма (be) (spérma) f
• Bulgarian: сперма (bg) (spérma) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精液 (cmn) (jīngyè)

• Czech: semeno (cs) n, sperma (cs) n
• Dutch: sperma (nl) n
• Estonian: sperma (et)
• Finnish: siemenneste (fi), sperma (fi)
• French: sperme (fr) m
• Georgian: სპერმა (ka) (sperma), თესლი (ka) (t'esli)
• German: Sperma (de) n
• Greek: σπέρμα (el) (spérma) n
• Hebrew: זרע (he) (zera) m
• Italian: sperma (it) m
• Japanese: 精液 (ja) (せいえき, seieki)

• Korean: 정액 (ko) (jeong-aek) (精液 (ko))
• Latvian: sēkla (lv) f, sperma (lv) f
• Macedonian: сперма (mk) (spérma) f
• Norwegian: sperm (no) m, sperma (no) m, sæd (no) m
• Persian: نطفه (fa) (notfá), منی (fa) (moni) (vulgar)
• Polish: sperma (pl) f
• Portuguese: esperma (pt) m
• Romanian: spermă (ro) f, smecleu (ro) n, smârcău (ro) n, smahoz (ro) n
• Russian: сперма (ru) (spérma) f, молофья (ru) (molof’já) f (vulgar)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сперма (sh) f

  Roman: sperma (sh) f

• Spanish: esperma (es) f
• Thai: สเปิร์ม (th) (sà bperm)
• Turkish: sperm (tr)
• Ukrainian: сперма (uk) (spérma) f
• Vietnamese: tinh dịch (vi) (精液 (vi))

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: 정액 (jeong-aek)
• Macedonian: сперма (sperma) f
• Maltese: liba f
• Telugu: శుక్లము (suklamu)

Anagrams

• perms
• prems

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

sperm m (definite singular spermen; uncountable)

1. sperm

Synonyms

• sperma
• sæd

Related terms

• sperme

Verb

sperm

1. Imperative of sperme

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Turkish

Noun

sperm

1. semen (male reproductory fluid)

This Turkish entry was created from the translations listed at semen. It may be less reliable than other entries, and may be missing parts of speech or additional senses. Please also see sperm in the Turkish Wiktionary. This notice will be removed when the entry is checked. (more information) May 2009