Sperm
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /spÉœËɹm/
- UK IPA: /spÉœËm/
- Rhymes: -ÉœË(ɹ)m
Origin
From Middle French sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπÎÏμα (sperma, "seed, semen").
Full definition of sperm
Noun
sperm
(countable and uncountable; plural sperms)- (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.
- (cytology) The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.
- 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.
- (chemistry) Sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.