Well, it is the name of the site. The name was chosen a few years back for its meaning of “new,” which is how we like to think of ourselves.

In fact, seminal does not mean “new”. The closest one-word definition is “original”, but the best American Heritage Dictionary definition I can find for this context is:

Highly influential in an original way; constituting or providing a basis for further development: a seminal idea in the creation of a new theory.

Ha, yeah, that one is what we were going for…

HeHe… I had that experience, too. My mind’s first association for seminal was seminal vesicles.

Neither of these sources produces “new” as a synonym 1)
2) perhaps you meant “original” and “important”?

Here is the appropriate definition:

Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.

Synonyms:
# (creative): innovative, primary
# (highly influential): innovative, formative

From: Wiktionary

I think that this is a tempest in a teaspoon. What is it your students are studying that makes it appropriate to deduct points for using such terms?

Yep, that’s the one!

I teach nursing and I would cite students who referenced a journal article as “seminal.” I know the dictionary definition is at least twice removed from the latin root, but it’s still inappropriate, IMHO.

It’s a metaphorical derivative of “semen”. The sense of “original” coming from semen as something from which a human being originates. So it means “original” but semen’s pretty close to the surface. Personally? Ick.

The latin, seminare, means “to sow”. The noun form, semen, simply means “seed”. Accordingly the the Online Etymological Dictionary, the

Fig[urative] sense of “full of possibilities” is attested from 1639.

Its figurative use is common and completely acceptable in academe and has been so for a long time. To wit, a Google search for ‘seminal article‘ yields 2,750,000 hits.

For some reason, I keep hearing Mel Brooks Harrumph harrumph

IMHO I can understand the reasoning but can’t find it reasonable to think that you should use your authority to penalize your students for this. I think it’s degrading.

I personally like the name. It’s associated in my mind with something like this Wiki reference:

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published 24 November 1859, is a seminal work of scientific literature considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology.

It’s funny, I associated it mostly with music, as in, a seminal album like ”Thriller.”

I have an alert set up for all tweets on Twitter with the word Seminal so I can track what people are saying about the blog. Most alerts are about music, though, so I guess I’m not the only one with that line of thinking.

Oh, thank you. I shall bookmark that clip for future use.

I suppose we could go balls-to-the-wall in attempting to enforce gender neutrality, perhaps with something like “Gametal,” but at a certain point these discussions become masturbatory.

ppowers29 and BlackFish

I can think of another word that means to sow semen or seed..’g’..and that’s about what I think of the name.

Surely you’re joking? Just because an adjective of any kind is used for a topic like, say, music, hardly limits the adjective to that subject.

If the comments are mostly about music, maybe it’s because the people you hear from are focused mostly on music.

Look, no offense, but we FDL’ers were told you guys were “really smart.” And I cautioned optimism about the change.

This explanation, especially the second one, while maybe not terribly important, is not smart. Sorry.

And is your tweet set up for ALL uses of the word? It’s not that unusual a word – surely you’re getting responses having nothing at all to do with the blog.

Oh, and I do think it’s terrible to take a point off for using the word in an exam. Just because people use it sometimes for certain meanings doesn’t mean it isn’t a pefectly good word.

to ppowers:

I should be more specific about the use of the word in exams — it is NOT a male word. For heaven’s sake.
the word comes from the word for seed. That word happens to be, in Latin, “semen.” genitive form, seminis. Hence words referring both to ordinary seeds and to to the male term you’re all thinking of, because of the centuries during which nobody had ever seen sperm and thought of impregnation as being a “planting of a seed.”

It ain’t a male word. Add back those deducted points and get over that narrow definition. Please.

Gender-based issues aside, I do think the name is a little junior-high-schoolish, like naming your group blog “The Brilliant.” But whatever.

Wow

It is a male word and it comes from the idea that females provided nothing more than soil for the seed of a man. They even drew a little homunculus inside the depiction of a sperm cell to represent the seed.

I object strongly to the use of the word in a forum dedicated to diversity and inclusion. I tell my students not to use it, so they don’t.

I also tell my students the history of the phrase “rule of thumb,” and the controversy over that is very well documented here:

http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jj…..thumb.html

I must say I never once thought of seminal fluid when I read “The Seminal.”
So I’m a bit confused by the umbrage.

At the very least, this has been a good vocabulary lesson. And ppowers, I hope you can look past your initial take on the name and enjoy the idea exchange growing here.

If there is no chance of changing the name, I suppose I will. As a word freak, take their history and usage seriously. Too seriously, maybe. That’s a charge that’s been leveled at me before.

Yep, the alert is set up for all uses of the word “seminal,” so I guess that’s what Twitter is talking about, or at least that’s the context. Of course, I’ve seen it used a lot for scientific journals and such. I guess music is the first connotation for me, though.

Good grief.
I am perfectly aware of the original meaning and use of rule of thumb.

I, too am a word freak, from the time I was aware of words as such.
And I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Seminal has more than one meaning. The one you describe is one meaning, but the much broader meaning of “original, beginning of” something is gender neutral.
You are really barking up the wrong tree here.

“‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.’
- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass “

http://www.diemer.ca/Docs/Diemer-FreeSpeech.htm

bullshit .. imo ..there was nothing wrong with bringing a new group into Oxdown … but renaming the venue sucks ..

you just lost this reader …

Are “seminars” ever held where you teach? Seminary was

commonly used for any school (especially academies for young ladies) from 1585 to 1930s.

Both from the same Latin root under discussion.

Since you’re an academic, perhaps you could cite your source for the notion that this belief is inherent in the word seminal:

…it comes from the idea that females provided nothing more than soil for the seed of a man.

OT: What was wrong with “Oxdown”?

Nothing. “The Seminal” was an independent news blogging site that has now been incorporated into FDL. They brought their name with them and the FDL PTB decided in incorporate the Oxdown function into their charter here.

Thanks, Bilbo. So, this is more than simply a renaming.

To which I’d add “Holy Shit”.

Pity the poor students.

Speaking of old terms, here’s one I’m reminded of…

I agree. You could make a case for something like “The WELL” being seminal, but it’s a rather a stretch in this case. Still, who cares? Real people are dying in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and goodness knows where else. Worrying about the name of this forum is truly a tempest in a teaspoon.

Yep, Bilbo’s got it right. We’ve got a whole slew of new folks, and some hopefully great plans for the community. With your help, we’ll keep on building.

Thanks Bilbo, for clearing that up. You hit it on the nose.

I’m one of the founders of The Seminal and, as Bilbo said, we’ve been an independent organization for some time (since 2004). At that time we were a print publication in Chicago. In 2006 we devoted ourselves to our website’s political coverage, had some relative success as a mid-size blog, and this year were approached by FDL about taking over Oxdown. Hopefully those who feel inconvenienced by the name change can understand our desire to continue on as The Seminal, given all the work we’ve put into the identity/brand. It seems we should have given a more detailed introductory post explaining all this clearly. We had lengthy discussions over how best to handle the transition but in the end we opted against the heavily-detailed approach.

To ppowers, I’m sorry if the name offends you. We’ve been around since 2004 and this is the first time it’s been an issue. The intended meaning is that given by Cobernicus above: “Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.” It is by no means meant as exclusionary or restrictive and I sincerely hope that is / becomes clear through our work.

To those who are so put off by the name change they will no longer be a reader, a la Jkat (#29), I’d encourage you to reconsider. We plan on running a quality site and I have no doubt that we will benefit from your continued presence as a member of our community, just as you will benefit from the quality content of the site.

And, to all, thanks for the hearty dialogue.

The Feminal?