seme

See also: Appendix:Variations of "seme"

English

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːm/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Homophones: seam, seem
• Rhymes: -iːm

Noun

seme (plural semes or semata)

1. (linguistics, semiotics) Anything which serves for any purpose as a substitute for an object of which it is, in some sense, a representation, sign, or symbol.

Related terms

• homosemic, homosemous
• homosemy
• polyseme
• polysemic, polysemous
• polysemy
• semantic (and its derivatives)
• semantics
• semasiology
• sematology
• sememe
• sememics
• semiotic
• semiotics

Etymology 2

Verb

seme (third-person singular simple present semes, present participle seming, simple past and past participle semed)

1. Obsolete form of seem.

Etymology 3

Noun

seme (plural semes)

1. Obsolete form of seam.

Etymology 4

Adjective

seme

1. Obsolete form of semé.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 46, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 150:

     I bear Azure seme of trefoiles, a Lions Paw in fæce, Or, armed Gules.

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Japanese 攻め (seme), derived from the verb 攻める (semeru, “to attack”).

Noun

seme (plural semes or seme)

1. (Japanese fiction, fandom slang) An active or dominant male character in a same-sex relationship; a top.
   • 2008, Dru Pagliassotti, “Better Than Romance? Japanese BL Manga and the Subgenre of Male/Male Romantic Fiction”, in Antonia Levi, Mark McHarry, Dru Pagliassotti, editors, Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre‎^[1], McFarland & Company (2008), →ISBN, page 73:

     […] BL manga readers chose intelligence, protectiveness, and beauty/handsomeness as the top three most important traits in a seme […]

   • 2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend's a Geek‎^[2], volume 1, Yen Press (2012), →ISBN:

     Sebas has always been the seme.

   • 2011, Robin E. Brenner, Snow Wildsmith, “Love through a DIfferent Lens: Japanese Homoerotic Manga through the Eyes of American Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Other Sexualities Readers”, in Timothy Perper, Martha Cornog, editors, Mangatopia: Essays on Manga and Anime in the Modern World‎^[3], Libraries Unlimited (2011), →ISBN, page 97:

     The seme is larger, stronger, and more traditionally masculine, while the uke is smaller, weaker, and more feminine.

Antonyms

• uke

Anagrams

• Mees, Esmé, Esme, smee, seem, mese, Smee, emes

Asturian

Verb

seme

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of semar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of semar

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *senbe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s̺eme/ [s̺e.me]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eme, -e
• Hyphenation: se‧me

Noun

seme anim

1. son

Declension

Declension of seme (anim V-stem)

	indefinite	singular	plural	proximal plural
absolutive	seme	semea	semeak	semeok
ergative	semek	semeak	semeek	semeok
dative	semeri	semeari	semeei	semeoi
genitive	semeren	semearen	semeen	semeon
comitative	semerekin	semearekin	semeekin	semeokin
causative	semerengatik	semearengatik	semeengatik	semeongatik
benefactive	semerentzat	semearentzat	semeentzat	semeontzat
instrumental	semez	semeaz	semeez	semeotaz
innesive	semerengan	semearengan	semeengan	semeongan
locative	—	—	—	—
allative	semerengana	semearengana	semeengana	semeongana
terminative	semerenganaino	semearenganaino	semeenganaino	semeonganaino
directive	semerenganantz	semearenganantz	semeenganantz	semeonganantz
destinative	semerenganako	semearenganako	semeenganako	semeonganako
ablative	semerengandik	semearengandik	semeengandik	semeongandik
partitive	semerik	—	—	—
prolative	semetzat	—	—	—

Derived terms

• seme besoetako (“godson”)
• seme galdu
• seme gehien
• seme nagusi
• seme ponteko (“godson”)
• seme premu
• seme zaharren
• seme-alaba (“children”)
• seme-alabaorde
• seme-alabatasun
• seme-alabatzako
• semebitxi (“godson”)
• semeizun (“stepson”)
• semeorde (“stepson”)
• semetasun
• semetxo
• semetzako
• semezko

Further reading

• “seme”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “seme”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Galician

Alternative forms

• sémen (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Latin sēmen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛme/ [ˈs̺ɛ.mɪ]
• Rhymes: -ɛme
• Hyphenation: se‧me

Noun

seme m (plural semes)

1. semen

   Synonyms: esperma, inzo

Further reading

• “seme”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “seme”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2025

Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seme/

Verb

seme

1. (intransitive) to eat

Noun

seme m

1. food

Related terms

• same

Italian

Etymology

From Latin sēmen, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈse.me/
• Rhymes: -eme
• Hyphenation: sé‧me

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

seme m (plural semi)

1. (botany) seed, pip
2. (botany, in some cases) bean
3. (anatomy, colloquial) semen

   Synonym: sperma

4. (card games) suit

Related terms

• semaio
• sementa
• semente
• semenza
• semina
• seminare

Further reading

• seme on the Italian Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^it

Anagrams

• mese

Japanese

Romanization

seme

1. Rōmaji transcription of せめ

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse sœmr, from Proto-Germanic *sōmiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseːm(ə)/

Adjective

seme

1. Seemly, appropriate, honourable.
2. (rare) Attractive, beautiful.

References

• “sẹ̄me, adj.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

seme

1. alternative form of seem (“seam”)

Etymology 3

Noun

seme

1. alternative form of seem (“load”)

Etymology 4

Verb

seme

1. alternative form of semen (“to sort out”)

Etymology 5

Verb

seme

1. alternative form of semen (“to seem”)

Etymology 6

Verb

seme

1. alternative form of semen (“to load up”)

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseː.me/

Verb

sēme

1. inflection of sēman:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. singular present subjunctive

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• sjȅme (Ijekavian)
• śeme (Montenegro)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sěmę, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *sḗˀmen, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sême/
• Hyphenation: se‧me

Noun

sȅme n (Cyrillic spelling се̏ме)

1. seed
2. germ
3. semen
4. spawn
5. milt
6. offspring
7. prime cause

Declension

Declension of seme

	singular	plural
nominative	sȅme	semena
genitive	sȅmena	semena
dative	semenu	semenima
accusative	seme	semena
vocative	seme	semena
locative	semenu	semenima
instrumental	semenom	semenima

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sěmę, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *sḗˀmen, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sèːmɛ/

Noun

sẹ́me n

1. seed

Declension

First neuter declension (hard o-stem) , fixed accent, -n- infix
nom. sing.	sẹ́me
gen. sing.	sẹ́mena
	singular	dual	plural
nominative imenovȃlnik	sẹ́me	sẹ́meni, sẹ̑meni	sẹ̑mena
genitive rodȋlnik	sẹ́mena	sẹ̑men	sẹ̑men
dative dajȃlnik	sẹ́menu, sẹ́meni	sẹ́menoma, sẹ̑menoma	sẹ̑menom
accusative tožȋlnik	sẹ́me	sẹ́meni, sẹ̑meni	sẹ̑mena
locative mẹ̑stnik	sẹ́menu, sẹ́meni	sẹ̑menih	sẹ̑menih
instrumental orọ̑dnik	sẹ́menom	sẹ́menoma, sẹ̑menoma	sẹ̑meni
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	sẹ́me	sẹ́meni, sẹ̑meni	sẹ̑mena

Further reading

• “seme”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “seme”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseme/ [ˈse.me]
• Rhymes: -eme
• Syllabification: se‧me

Verb

seme

1. inflection of ser:
   1. second-person singular imperative combined with me
   2. second-person singular voseo imperative combined with me

Venetan

Adjective

seme

1. feminine plural of semo