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sperm

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    sperm (countable and uncountable, plural sperm or sperms)

    2. (countable) The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
      • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 80:
        In the Fall into the division of labor, Levi-Strauss sees the great hunters trading women to create the exogamous bonds of one hunting band with another. The egg is, but the sperm does. The tiny sperm may be furious in its activity, but its highway to the egg is paved by the alkaline trail set down by the Great Mother.
      • 1999, John Vernon, “Origins”, in A Book of Reasons, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 229:
        Out of two hundred million sperm, one penetrates the egg.
      • 2012 April 13, Sarah Whitehouse, The Guardian:
        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.
      • 2022 April 26, Megan Marples, “Tiny spider catapults to safety after mating to avoid sexual cannibalism”, in CNN‎[1]:
        “Female may accept the sperms of male that can catapult but deplete the sperms of male that can be easily caught by her,” he said.
      • 2024 June 11, Dr. Steve Chapman, “Is swallowing semen good for you?”, in Better2Know‎[2]:
        However, in some men precum will contain sperm so adequate protection should be used to prevent pregnancy.
    3. (uncountable, slang) Semen; the generative substance of male animals.
    4. (chemistry) Sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.
      • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula:
        Holding his candle so that he could read the coffin plates, and so holding it that the sperm dropped in white patches which congealed as they touched the metal, he made assurance of Lucy’s coffin.

    Synonyms

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    Hypernyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Verb

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    sperm (third-person singular simple present sperms, present participle sperming, simple past and past participle spermed)

    1. (intransitive, slang, vulgar) To ejaculate.
    2. (transitive, slang, vulgar) To ejaculate on or into.

    Translations

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    Anagrams

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    Danish

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    From Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma).

    Noun

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    sperm c (singular definite spermen, not used in plural form)

    1. sperm
      Synonym: sæd

    Declension

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    Declension of sperm
    common
    gender     		singular
    indefinite definite
    nominative sperm spermen
    genitive sperms spermens
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    References

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    Norwegian Bokmål

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    Etymology

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    From Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma) (sense 1).

    Noun

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    sperm m (definite singular spermen, uncountable)

    1. sperm
    2. short for spermasett (spermaceti); see spermhval.

    Synonyms

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    Verb

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    sperm

    1. imperative of sperme

    References

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    Turkish

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    sperm

    1. semen (male reproductory fluid)
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