[seed] n, pl seed or seeds [ME, fr. OE saed; akin to OHG sat seed, OE sawan to sow--more at sow] (bef. 12c) 1 a (1): the grains or ripened ovules of plants used for sowing (2): the fertilized ripened ovule of a flowering plant containing an embryo and capable normally of germination to produce a new plant; broadly: a propagative plant structure (as a spore or small dry fruit) b: a propagative animal structure: (1): milt, semen (2): a small egg (as of an insect) (3): a developmental form of a lower animal suitable for transplanting; specif: spat c: the condition or stage of bearing seed "in ~"
2: progeny
3: a source of development or growth: germ "sowed the ~s of discord"
4: something (as a tiny particle or a bubble in glass) that resembles a seed in shape or size
5: a competitor who has been seeded in a tournament -- seed adj -- seed.ed adj -- seed.less adj -- seed.like adj -- go to seed or run to seed 1: to develop seed
2: decay
[2]seed vi (14c) 1: to bear or shed seed
2: to sow seed: plant ~ vt 1 a: to plant seeds in: sow "~ land to grass" b: to furnish with something that causes or stimulates growth or development c: inoculate d: to supply with nuclei (as of crystallization or condensation); esp: to treat (a cloud) with solid particles to convert water droplets into ice crystals in an attempt to produce precipitation e: to cover or permeate by or as if by scattering something "~ed [the] sea-lanes with thousands of magnetic mines --Otto Friedrich"
2: plant 1a
3: to extract the seeds from (as raisins)
4. a: to schedule (tournament players or teams) so that superior ones will not meet in early rounds b: to rank (a contestant) relative to others in a tournament on the basis of previous record "the top-seeded tennis star"