ˈsemən ə l also ˈsēm- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin seminalis, from semin-, semen seed + -alis -al — more at semen
1. : of, derived from, containing, or consisting of seed or semen
seminal vessels
2. : having the character of an originative power, principle, or source : containing or contributing the seeds of later development : germinative , original
existentialism … has at least acted as a seminal force, inducing other and perhaps contradictory ideas — Philip Toynbee
fruitful dialectical interplay between literary history and literary criticism, the seminal ideas of one discipline influencing the growth of the other — C.I.Glicksberg
one of the great seminal minds of our age, … a thinker whose insights have become a part of our cultural heritage — Sidney Ratner