seminary
noun
sem·i·nary
ˈse-mə-ˌner-ē 
plural seminaries
1
: an environment in which something originates and from which it is propagated
a seminary of vice and crime
2
a
: an institution of secondary or higher education
b
: an institution for the training of candidates for the priesthood, ministry, or rabbinate
Examples of seminary in a Sentence
a seminary exclusively for women
some claimed that orphanages were seminaries of sin and petty crime, turning out juvenile delinquents by the score
Recent Examples on the Web
Funds could support conservative seminaries like Nashotah House, a conservative seminary in the Anglican tradition, or pastors from the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, ensuring orthodox leadership for historic churches.
—
The Rev. Jake Dell, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025
Last fall, the 16th-century Di Gara text was returned to a Jewish seminary after mysteriously ending up on an online marketplace.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
Prevost completed his secondary studies at the minor seminary of the Order of St. Augustine in 1973 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Villanova University in 1977.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 8 May 2025
The future pontiff lived in the house full time until going off to a Michigan seminary for high school in 1969.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminary
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The Rev. Jake Dell, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025
Last fall, the 16th-century Di Gara text was returned to a Jewish seminary after mysteriously ending up on an online marketplace.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
Prevost completed his secondary studies at the minor seminary of the Order of St. Augustine in 1973 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Villanova University in 1977.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 8 May 2025
The future pontiff lived in the house full time until going off to a Michigan seminary for high school in 1969.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for seminary
Cite this Entry
“Seminary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seminary. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
seminary
noun
sem·i·nary
ˈsem-ə-ˌner-ē
plural seminaries
1
: a private school at or above the high school level
2
: a school for the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis
Etymology
Middle English seminary "seedbed, nursery, from Latin seminarium (same meaning), from semen "seed"
Word Origin
The English word seminary and its Latin source seminarium, a derivative of semen, "seed," both originally denoted a nursery for young plants. Roman authors sometimes used the Latin word figuratively, but English has gone much further in extending the meaning of the word, while the old sense "nursery for plants" is now obsolete. The use of seminary in reference to training schools for Roman Catholic clergy dates from the 16th century. Today the word refers equally to Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish colleges for training priests, ministers, or rabbis. Seminary has also been applied to other kinds of schools. When they were first formed in the 19th century, colleges for women were called "female seminaries" or "seminaries for young ladies."
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