seminal
adjective /ˈsemɪnl/
/ˈsemɪnl/
- (formal) very important and having a strong influence on later developments
- a seminal work/article/study
- His book on social policy proved to be seminal.
- [usually before noun] (specialist) of or containing semen
- seminal fluid
Word Originlate Middle English (in sense (2)): from Old French seminal or Latin seminalis, from semen ‘seed’. Sense (1) dates from the mid 17th cent.