seminary

noun

sem·​i·​nary ˈse-mə-ˌner-ē 

plural seminaries

1

: an environment in which something originates and from which it is propagated

a seminary of vice and crime

2

a

: an institution of secondary or higher education

b

: an institution for the training of candidates for the priesthood, ministry, or rabbinate

Synonyms

• academe
• academy
• school

Examples of seminary in a Sentence

a seminary exclusively for women

some claimed that orphanages were seminaries of sin and petty crime, turning out juvenile delinquents by the score

Recent Examples on the Web

But to the Pakistani government and Western counterterrorism officials, the religious seminaries known as madrasas also represent a potential threat. —Zia Ur-Rehman, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025

In fact, after four decades of revolutionary fervor, the regime’s power centers, notably the military-security establishment and seminaries, are radicalizing rather than moderating. —Kian Tajbakhsh, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2019

In his remarks, Francis said that there was already too much gayness in Catholic seminaries, using a pejorative to describe it, according to bishops who attended the conference. —Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Some of those details, such as a claim that Greenway spent $11,000 of the seminary’s money on an espresso machine for his house, quickly became a source of sensation and outrage throughout the SBC. —Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, seedbed, nursery, from Latin seminarium, from semin-, semen seed

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seminary

• major seminary
• minor seminary

Kids Definition

seminary

noun

sem·​i·​nary ˈsem-ə-ˌner-ē 

plural seminaries

1

: a private school at or above the high school level

2

: a school for the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis

Etymology

Middle English seminary "seedbed, nursery, from Latin seminarium (same meaning), from semen "seed"

Word Origin

The English word seminary and its Latin source seminarium, a derivative of semen, "seed," both originally denoted a nursery for young plants. Roman authors sometimes used the Latin word figuratively, but English has gone much further in extending the meaning of the word, while the old sense "nursery for plants" is now obsolete. The use of seminary in reference to training schools for Roman Catholic clergy dates from the 16th century. Today the word refers equally to Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish colleges for training priests, ministers, or rabbis. Seminary has also been applied to other kinds of schools. When they were first formed in the 19th century, colleges for women were called "female seminaries" or "seminaries for young ladies."