Noun

(uncountable) Semen; the generative substance of male animals.

*, II.12:

Other Nations there are, that never have use of fire; Others, whose sperme is of a blacke colour.

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

* 2012 , Sarah Whitehouse, The Guardian , 13 Apr 2012:

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.

(chemistry) Sperm oil; whale oil from a sperm whale; spermaceti.

Noun

(nb-noun-mu)

Noun

(en noun)

(historical) One who believed that the complete human being was contained in the sperm rather than the ovum.

*{{quote-news, year=2009, date=March 27, author=Vivien Schweitzer, title=Night of New York Debuts, and a Farewell, work=New York Times citation

, passage=Esa-Pekka Salonen, in his wry program notes for his “Homunculus” (2007) for string quartet, writes that he has long “been fascinated (and amused) by the theory of the arcane spermists , who held the belief that the sperm was in fact a ‘little man’ (homunculus) that was placed inside a woman for growth into a child.” }}