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   Seed

   /sēd/

   

   noun

   • 1. a flowering plant's unit of reproduction, capable of developing into another such plant: "cut open the peppers and remove the seeds" Similar pipstonepitnutkernelgermtechnical:ovule
   • ▪ a quantity of seeds: "grass seed"
   • ▪ the cause or latent beginning of a feeling, process, or condition: "the conversation sowed a tiny seed of doubt in his mind" Similar genesissourceoriginrootstarting pointgermbeginningspotential (for)causereasonmotivationmotivebasebasisfoundationbottomseatfundamentalcorenucleusheartkernelnubessencefons et origoliterary:fountainheadwellspringfount
   • 2. a man's semen. Similar semenspermspermatic fluidseminal fluidmiltejaculateemissionspermatozoavulgar slang:comecumjismjissomjizzspunk
   • ▪ (chiefly in biblical use) a person's offspring or descendants: archaic "as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed" Similar descendantsheirssuccessorsscionsoffspringchildrensons and daughtersprogenyfamilyyoungstersbabiesbroodissueinformal:kidsquiverfulderogatory:spawnarchaic:fruitfruit of someone's loins
   • 3. any of a number of stronger competitors in a sports tournament who have been assigned a specified position in an ordered list with the aim of ensuring that they do not play each other in the early rounds: "he knocked the top seed out of the championships"
   • 4. a small crystal introduced into a liquid to act as a nucleus for crystallization.
   • 5. a small container for radioactive material placed in body tissue during radiotherapy.

   verb

   • 1. sow (land) with seeds: "the shoreline is seeded with a special grass"
   • ▪ sow (a particular kind of seed) on or in the ground: "after seeding forage into the duff, they now have grassland mixed with mature forest"
   • ▪ cause (something) to begin to develop or grow: "severance payouts that help seed their new businesses"
   • ▪ place a crystal or crystalline substance in (something) in order to cause crystallization or condensation (especially in a cloud to produce rain): "potential hail clouds are observed by radar, then seeded by lead iodide fired into the cloud's center"
   • 2. (of a plant) produce or drop seeds: "mulches encourage many plants to seed freely"
   • ▪ (of a plant) reproduce itself by means of its own seeds: "feverfew will seed itself readily"
   • 3. remove the seeds from (vegetables or fruit): "stem and seed the chilies"
   • 4. give (a competitor) the status of seed in a tournament: "Jeff Tarango, seeded five, was defeated by fellow American Todd Witsken"

   Word Origin Old Englishsǣd, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zaad, German Saat, also to the verb sow1.

   Scrabble Points: 5

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