sperm
UK /spɜːm/ · US /spɜɹm/ noun, verb
Forms sperms sperming spermed
- noun (countable) The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
- noun (uncountable, slang) Semen; the generative substance of male animals.
- noun (chemistry) Sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.
- verb (intransitive, slang, vulgar) To ejaculate.
- verb (transitive, slang, vulgar) To ejaculate on or into.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The male fecundating fluid; semen. See Semen. Sperm cell (Physiol.), one of the cells from which the spermatozoids are developed.
- noun Spermaceti. Sperm oil, a fatty oil found as a liquid, with spermaceti, in the head cavities of the sperm whale.
Etymology [F. sperme, L. sperma, Gr. Spore.]
Etymology [Contr. fr. spermaceti.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sperm”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details