seed

seed [sēd]

n.

pl. seeds or seed [ME sede < OE sæd, akin to Ger saat < IE base * sē(i)-, to cast, let fall > L serere, to sow, plant, sator, sower, semen, seed]

1. the part of a flowering plant that typically contains the embryo with its protective coat and stored food and that can develop into a new plant under the proper conditions; fertilized and mature ovule

2. loosely

a) any part, as a bulb, tuber, etc., from which a new plant can grow [a potato seed]

b) a small, usually hard, seedlike fruit

3. seeds collectively

4. the source, origin, or beginning of anything [the seeds of revolt]

5. Archaic

a) descendants; posterity

b) ancestry

6.

a) in the development of certain lower animals, a form suitable for transplanting, as spat

b) the seed-bearing stage or condition [in seed]

7. SPORE (n. 2)

8. sperm or semen

9. something tiny, like a seed; esp.,

☆ a) a tiny crystal or other particle, as one added to a solution or liquid to start crystallization

b) a tiny bubble, as a flaw in glassware

☆ 10. Sports a seeded player

vt.

1. to plant with seeds

2. to sow (seeds)

3. to remove the seeds from

☆ 4. to inject, fill, or scatter with seeds (see SEED, sense 9a); esp., to sprinkle particles of dry ice, silver iodide, etc. into (clouds) in an attempt to induce rainfall

5. to provide with the means or stimulus for growing or developing

6. Sports

a) to distribute the names of the ranking contestants in (the draw for position in a tournament) so that those with the greatest skill are not matched together in the early rounds

b) to treat (a player) as a ranking contestant in this way

vi.

1. to form seeds; specif., to become ripe and produce seeds

2. to go to seed; shed seeds

3. to sow seeds

——————

go to seed or run to seed

1. to shed seeds after the time of flowering or bearing has passed

2. to become weak, useless, unprofitable, etc.; deteriorate

seeded

adj.

seedless

adj.