Seminary
/ˈsɛm.ɪ.nə.ri/noun
A school or institution for training clergy or religious leaders.
Did you know?Seminary comes from Latin seminarium, originally meaning a seedbed or nursery, from semen, "seed," which is why the word still carries the idea of something planted to grow.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*seh₁i-
“to sow”
Latin
Latin
semen
“seed, offspring”
Latin
Latin
seminarium
“seedbed, nursery; later a place for training clergy”
Late Latin
Latin
seminarium
“a place where young men were trained for the priesthood”
16th Century
English
seminary
“a training place, especially for clergy”
Modern English
English
seminary
“an institution for training priests, ministers, or rabbis”
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