Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SEM'IN-AL, a. [Fr. from seminalis, from semen, seed; from the root of sow.]

1. Pertaining to seed, or to the elements of production.
2. Contained in seed; radical; rudimental; original; as, seminal principles of generation; seminal virtue. – Glanville. Swift. Seminal leaf, the same as seed-leaf.