SEED


Meaning of SEED in English

I. ˈsēd noun

( plural seed or seeds )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sǣd; akin to Old High German sāt seed, Old English sāwan to sow — more at sow

Date: before 12th century

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 ; specifically : spat

c. : the condition or stage of bearing seed

in seed

2. : progeny

3. : a source of development or growth : germ

sowed the seed 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

the top seed

• seed adjective

• seed·ed ˈsē-dəd adjective

• seed·less ˈsēd-ləs adjective

• seed·like -ˌlīk adjective

- go to seed

II. verb

Date: 14th century

intransitive verb

1. : to bear or shed seed

2. : to sow seed : plant

transitive verb

1.

a. : to plant seeds in : sow

seed a lawn with 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) ; especially : 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

seed 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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.