sperm

Definition

The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.

Etymology

From Middle English sperme, from Latin sperma, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, semen”). Compare also Old French esperme, sparme.

Example Sentences

• "In the Fall into the division of labor, Levi-Strauss sees the great hunters trading women to create the exogamous bonds of one hunting band with another. The egg is, but the sperm does. The tiny sperm may be furious in its activity, but its highway to the egg is paved by the alkaline trail set down by the Great Mother."
• "Seeing the two little moving cells – the result of her egg and Luke's sperm – was incredible, and two very long weeks later the clinic confirmed I was pregnant."
• "“Female may accept the sperms of male that can catapult but deplete the sperms of male that can be easily caught by her,” he said."