sperm

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sperm 1

 (spûrm)
n. pl. sperm or sperms
1. A male gamete, such as a spermatozoon of an animal or one of the cells or nuclei produced by a pollen grain of a plant. Also called sperm cell.
2. Semen.
[Middle English sperme, semen, from Old French esperme, from Late Latin sperma, from Greek; see sper- in Indo-European roots.]
sperm′ous adj.

sperm 2

 (spûrm)
n.
A substance, such as spermaceti, obtained from a sperm whale.
[Short for spermaceti.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sperm

(spɜːm)
n, pl sperms or sperm
1. (Physiology) another name for semen
2. (Physiology) a male reproductive cell; male gamete
[C14: from Late Latin sperma, from Greek; related to Greek speirein to sow]

sperm

(spɜːm)
n
(Animals) short for sperm whale, spermaceti, sperm oil
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sperm1

(spɜrm)

n., pl. sperm, sperms for 2.
1. a male reproductive cell; spermatozoon.
2. semen.
[1350–1400; Middle English sperme < Late Latin sperma < Greek spérma seed <sper-, base of speírein to sow]

sperm2

(spɜrm)

n.
spermaceti.
[1830–40; by shortening]

-sperm

a combining form meaning “one having seeds” of the kind specified by the initial element: gymnosperm.
[< Greek -spermos]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

sperm

(spûrm)
1. In male animals, the reproductive cell whose nucleus is capable of fusing with the nucleus of an egg cell to form a new organism; a spermatozoon. A sperm has half as many chromosomes as the other cells of the body and moves to unite with the egg.
2. In plants, algae, and certain fungi, the reproductive cell whose nucleus is capable of fusing with the nucleus of a female reproductive cell to form a new organism. A sperm has half as many chromosomes as the other cells of the organism and moves to unite with the egg.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sperm

Male sex cells.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.sperm - the male reproductive cellsperm - the male reproductive cell; the male gamete; "a sperm is mostly a nucleus surrounded by little other cellular material"
sperm cell, spermatozoan, spermatozoon
flagellum - a lash-like appendage used for locomotion (e.g., in sperm cells and some bacteria and protozoa)
come, seminal fluid, seed - the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
gamete - a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes
acrosome - a process at the anterior end of a sperm cell that produces enzymes to facilitate penetration of the egg
male reproductive system - the reproductive system of males
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

sperm

noun
1. spermatozoon, reproductive cell, male gamete Conception occurs when a single sperm fuses with an egg.
2. semen, seed (archaic or dialect), spermatozoa, scum (U.S. slang), come or cum (taboo), jism or jissom (taboo) the ejaculation of sperm
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sperm

noun
The male fluid of fertilization:
seed, semen.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
خلِيَّة مَنويَّه مُخْصِبَهسائِل مَنَويمَنِيّ
spermiespermasemeno
sædsædcellesperm
sperma
spermasiemennestesiittiö
sperma
sperma
sæîisáîfruma
精子
정자
spermaspermatozoidas
spermaspermatozoīds
spermă
spermaspermia
sperma
ตัวอสุจิ
er suyuerkeklik tohumumenispermsperma
tinh trùng

sperm

[spɜːm]
A. N (Bio) → esperma m or f
B. CPD sperm bank N → banco m de esperma
sperm count N → recuento m de espermas
sperm whale N → cachalote m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sperm

[ˈspɜːrm]
n
(= cell) → spermatozoïde m
(= semen) → sperme m
modif [donor, donation, sample] → de sperme
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sperm

n → Samenfaden m, → Spermatozoon nt, → Spermium nt; (= fluid) → Samenflüssigkeit f, → Sperma nt

sperm

:
sperm oil
n → Walratöl nt
sperm whale
n → Pottwal m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sperm

[spɜːm] n (Bio) → sperma m
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sperm

(spːm) plural sperms sperm – noun
1. the fluid in a male animal etc that fertilizes the female egg.
2. one of the fertilizing cells in this fluid.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

sperm

→ مَنِيّ spermie sperm Sperma σπέρμα esperma sperma sperme sperma sperma 精子 정자 sperma sperm sperma esperma сперма sperma ตัวอสุจิ sperm tinh trùng 精子
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

sperm

n. esperma, semen;
decreased ___ count → conteo disminuido de ___;
___ count → espermiograma
V.: semen.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

sperm

n (individual spermatozoon) espermatozoide m; (semen) semen m, esperma m&f
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in classic literature ?
Assuming the blubber to be the skin of the whale; then, when this skin, as in the case of a very large Sperm Whale, will yield the bulk of one hundred barrels of oil; and, when it is considered that, in quantity, or rather weight, that oil, in its expressed state, is only three fourths, and not the entire substance of the coat; some idea may hence be had of the enormousness of that animated mass, a mere part of whose mere integument yields such a lake of liquid as that.
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Utter confusion exists among the historians of this animal (sperm whale), says Surgeon Beale, A.
But Scoresby knew nothing and says nothing of the great sperm whale, compared with which the Greenland whale is almost unworthy mentioning.
As the type of the FOLIO I present the Sperm Whale; of the OCTAVO, the Grampus; of the DUODECIMO, the Porpoise.
Some centuries ago, when the Sperm whale was almost wholly unknown in his own proper individuality, and when his oil was only accidentally obtained from the stranded fish; in those days spermaceti, it would seem, was popularly supposed to be derived from a creature identical with the one then known in England as the Greenland or Right Whale.
Thus, the sperm whale and the humpbacked whale, each has a hump; but there the similitude ceases.
At any rate, the popular name for him does not sufficiently distinguish him, since the sperm whale also has a hump, though a smaller one.
By some fishermen his approach is regarded as premonitory of the advance of the great sperm whale.
But the next time you have a chance, watch him; and you will then see the great Sperm whale himself in miniature.
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The infertility in males today can be attributed to a range of factors such as low sperm count, no sperm count or azoospermia, malformed sperms or low sperm motility.
BANKING ON A BABY
Usually, infertile men with low sperm count or abnormal sperms opt for IVF, in which scientists use light microscopes to find any sperm cell, and then inject it directly into an egg to fertilize it.
Now, a technique to pick healthiest sperm for improved IVF treatment
"About 50 percent of infertility cases concern men whose seminal fluid contain either little or rare sperm, or whose sperm moves slowly, or whose sperm has a large ratio of deformity that goes up to 99 percent, especially among men who need to have testicular biopsy due to a complete absence of sperms in their seminal fluid," he said.
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