semilla

See also: Semilla

Spanish

Etymology

Probably from a derivative of Latin semen (“seeds”).

Corominas proposes Vulgar Latin *sēminia, plural of *sēminium, through a Mozarabic xeminio.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /seˈmiʝa/ [seˈmi.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /seˈmiʝa/ [seˈmi.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /seˈmiʎa/ [seˈmi.ʎa] (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /seˈmiʃa/ [seˈmi.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /seˈmiʒa/ [seˈmi.ʒa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /seˈmia/ [seˈmi.a] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -iʝa

• Rhymes: -iʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -iʎa (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -iʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -iʒa (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• Rhymes: -ia (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Syllabification: se‧mi‧lla

Noun

semilla f (plural semillas)

1. seed (of a plant)

Descendants

• → Cebuano: semilya
• → Portuguese: (dialectal) semilha (“potato”)
• → Tagalog: semilya (“sperm, semen”)

Further reading

• “semilla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025