Definition of "seed"

seed¹

/siːd/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural seeds
1. (countable, botany) A fertilized and ripened ovule, containing an embryonic plant.
2. (countable) Any small seed-like fruit.
  Quotations
  The exiguity and ſmallneſſe of ſome ſeeds extending to large productions is one of the magnalities of nature, ſomewhat illuſtrating the work of the Creation, and vaſt production from nothing.
  1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter III.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […]; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, page 136
  Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […] . In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.
  2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3
3. (countable, agriculture) Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
  Quotations
  […] for hungry birds have devoured ſeeds, and having moiſtened and warmed them in their bellies, a little after have dunged in the forky twiſtes of Trees, and together with their dung excluded the ſeed whole which erſt they had ſwallowed: and ſometimes it brings forth there where they dung it, […]
  1669, John Baptiſta Porta, chapter V, in Natural Magick‎, The Third Book Of Natural Magick: […] , page 68
4. (uncountable, collective) An amount of seeds that cannot be readily counted.
5. (countable) A fragment of coral.
6. (uncountable) Semen.
  Quotations
  And if any mans seede of copulation goe out from him, then hee shall wash all his flesh in water, and bee vncleane vntill the Euen.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Leviticus 15:16
7. (countable, figurative) A precursor.
8. (countable) The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  1. (sports) The initial position of a competitor or team in a tournament. (seed position)
  2. The competitor or team occupying a given seed. (seed position)
  3. (cryptography) The initialization state of a pseudorandom number generator or similar system. (seed number)
    Quotations
    As suggested in , space can be saved by using a deterministic pseudo random number generator (PRNG) and storing only the seed of that PRNG.
    2009, Daniel J. Bernstein, Johannes Buchmann, Erik Dahmen, editors, Post-Quantum Cryptography, Springer, page 44
    Seeds are Minecraft's way of generating terrain. Each biome you spawn in is determined by the seed. With a custom seed, you can have a desert biome right next to a mesa biome.
    2015, Jesse Stay, Thomas Stay, Jacob Cordeiro, Minecraft For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, page 242
  4. (Internet marketing) A commercial message in a creative format placed on relevant sites on the Internet. (seed idea or seed message)
9. (now rare) Offspring, descendants, progeny.
  Quotations
  Next him king Leyr in happie peace long raind, / But had no issue male him to succeed, / But three faire daughters, which were well vptraind, / In all that seemed fit for kingly seed […]
  1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie
10. Race; generation; birth.
  Quotations
  Of mortal seed they were not held.
  a. 1687, Edmund Waller, To Zelinda
11. (physics) A small particle, bubble, or imperfection that serves as a nucleation point for some process.
12. A small bubble formed in imperfectly fused glass.
verb
third-person singular simple present seeds, present participle seeding, simple past and past participle seeded
1. (transitive) To plant or sow an area with seeds.
2. (transitive) To cover thinly with something scattered; to ornament with seedlike decorations.
  Quotations
  AGRYPNIA, or Vigilance, in yellow, a ſable mantle ſeeded with waking eyes, and ſiluer fringe: […]
  1604 March 25 (first performance; Gregorian calendar; published 1604), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Part of the Kings Entertainment in Passing to His Coronation [The Coronation Triumph]”, in The Workes of Ben Jonson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, page 846
3. (transitive) To start; to provide, assign or determine the initial resources for, position of, state of.
4. (sports, gaming) To allocate a seeding to a competitor.
5. (Internet, transitive) To leave (files) available for others to download through peer-to-peer file sharing protocols (e.g. BitTorrent).
6. (intransitive) To be qualified to compete, especially in a quarter-final, semi-final, or final.
7. (meteorology) To scatter small particles within (a cloud or airmass) in order to trigger the formation of rain.
8. (intransitive) To produce seed.
9. (intransitive) To grow to maturity.
10. (slang, vulgar) To ejaculate inside the penetratee during intercourse, especially in the rectum.

seed²

/siːd/

verb
1. (dialectal) simple past and past participle of see

Definition of "seed"

seed1

noun

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verb

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seed2

verb

seed¹

seed²