Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Sperm |
SpermNoun1. The male reproductive cell; the male gamete. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "sperm" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
Note: Sperm \Sperm\, n. [Contr. from spermaceti.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Medicine | The fecundating fluid of the male. Source: European Union. (references) |
Multilingual Slang | English (come, jizz, jizzum , spooge), French (foutre), Hungarian (geci), Portuguese (esporra), Russian (malofya), Swedish (kuksås ). (references) |
Slang | Jizz, come, jizzum, spooge. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A sperm cell (or spermatozoön) is the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A sperm cell can fertilize an egg cell to form a zygote, which can grow into a new organism. This is where human babies come from.
Sperm is carried in the fluid called semen.
In humans, sperm cells consists of head 0.005 by 0.003 mm and tail 0.05 mm long. The tail flagellates, which propels the sperm cell. The cell is characterized by a minimum of cytoplasm.
Sperm cells were first observed by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in 1679.
(1) Acrosome (2) Cell membrane (3) Nucleus (4) Mitochondria (5) Tail (flagella)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sperm."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Sperm Whale'
Scarred Giant -- Artist: Chris Harman [1]Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Physeteridae Genus: Physeter Species: ''macrocephalus Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal in the world. The whale was named after the milky-white substance spermaceti found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The Sperm Whale's enormous head and distinctive shape, as well as its central role in Hermann Melville's Moby Dick, have led many to describe it as the archetypal whale.
Physical description
The Sperm Whale is exceptional for its very large head, particularly in males, which is typically one-third of its length. Indeed, the species name macrocephalus is derived from the Greek for 'big head'. In contrast to the smooth skin of most other large whales, the skin on the back of the Sperm Whale is usually knobbly and has been likened to a prune by whale-watching enthusiasts (ref 5. below). They are uniformly grey in colour though may appear brown in sunlight (the "Great White Whale" of Melville's novel, if such an animal existed, was an albino). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the brain of the Sperm Whale is the largest and heaviest of all animals (weighing on average 7kg in a grown male). However, the brain is not large relative to body size.
The blowhole is situated very close to the front of the head and shifted to the left (as observed when facing the same direction as the whale). This gives rise to a distinctive bushy blow angled forward. The dorsal fin is set about two-thirds of the way down the spine and is typically short and shaped like an equilateral triangle. The fluke is also triangular and very thick. Flukes are lifted very high out of the water before a whale begins a deep dive.
Sperm Whales have 20-26 pairs of cone-shaped teeth in their lower jaw. Each tooth can weigh as much as one kilogram. The reason for the existence of the teeth is not known with certainty. It is believed that they are not necessary for feeding on squid (see Feeding below) and indeed healthy well-fed Sperm Whales have been found in the wild without teeth. The current scientific consensus is that the teeth may be used for aggression between males of the same species. This hypothesis is consistent with the conic shape and wide-spacing of the teeth. Rudimentary teeth are also present in the upper jaw but these rarely open into the mouth.
Sperm Whales are amongst the most sexually dimorphic (that is, males and females differ greatly) of all cetaceans. Males are typically 30-50% longer (16-18m) than females (12-14m) and weigh about twice as much (50,000kg vs 25,0000kg). At birth both males and females are about 4m in length and 1,000kg in weight.
Geneticists describe Sperm Whales as the epitome of a species that has been K-selected, which is to say that the species is believed to have developed primarily under evolutionary pressure from individuals of the same species. This relatively 'easy' evolution has led them to have a low birth rate, slow maturation and high longevity. Females give birth once every four to six years and the gestation period is at least 12 months and possibly as long as 18 months. Nursing takes place for two to three years. In males puberty lasts for about ten years between the ages of about 10 and 20. Males continue to grow into their 30s and 40s and only reach their full size when about 50 years old.
Taxonomy
The Sperm Whale was categorised first by Linnaeus in 1758 who recognised four species in the Physeter genus. Authorities soon realised that just one such species exists. In most modern publications the Sperm Whale is classified as the sole species in the Physeteridae family (and thus the only species in its genus). The Sperm Whale family is sometimes (see e.g. [4]) treated as a superfamily, Physeteroidea. This superfamily contains only two other species - the Pygmy Sperm Whale and the Dwarf Sperm Whale. These two whales belong to the family Kogiidae. Mead and Brownell (1993, see [6]), however, list all three species in the family Kogiidae, give the Sperm Whale the binomial name Physter catodon and dispense with the superfamily.Sperm Whales are believed to have diverged from other toothed whales early in the evolution of the suborder - around twenty million years ago (see [1] for details).
Spermaceti
Spermaceti is the semiliquid waxy substance found in the head of the Sperm Whale. The name derives from the late Latin sperma ceti (sperma is actually a loan word from Greek) meaning 'sperm of the whale' (strictly, 'sperm of the sea monster'). The common name for the species is actually an apocopation of Spermaceti Whale. The substance is not of course the whale's semen; it was mistaken for such by early whalers. Spermaceti is found in the spermaceti organ or case in front of and above the skull of the whale and also in the so-called junk which is right at the front of the whale's head just above the upper jaw. The case consists of a soft white substance saturated with spermaceti. The junk is a more solid substance. The precise function of spermaceti and the organs it fills is not known but at least three (not necessarily mutually exclusive) hypotheses exist:
One recent hypothesis (detailed in [1]) is that the case evolved as a kind of battering ram for use in fights between males. This hypothesis is consistent with the well-documented sinking of the ships Essex and Ann Alexander due to attacks by sperm whales estimated to weigh only one fifth as much as the ships. The role of spermaceti as a sexual selector is currently the most in vogue.
A second, more long-standing, suggestion is that the case is an aid to the whale in controlling buoyancy. The density of the wax could be increased by cooling it with water brought in through the blowhole, helping the whale to sink. Conversely, forcing water out through the blowhole again would cause the spermaceti to reheat, become less dense and aid floating. This popularly-quoted theory has recently lost some credence. Research suggests that no capillary effect would be extensive enough to change drastically the buoyancy of a 50-tonne whale. (See Ted Cranford's homepage at [1] for a list of papers detailing the research).
A third possibility is that the case is used as an aid to echolocation. The shape of the organ at any given time is likely to focus or widen the beam of emitted sound. The sound waves may be so focused that they act as a kind of stun gun, temporarily disabling prey. Active research into all these possibilities continues.
Spermaceti was much sought after by 18th- and 19th-century whalers. The substance found a variety of commercial applications, such as candles for street-lighting. It continued to be used in the Soviet Union for the manufacture of soap well into the latter part of the 20th century.
Feeding, behaviour and diving
Sperm Whales, along with Bottlenose whales, are the deepest-diving mammals in the world. They are believed to be able to dive up to 3000 metres in depth and 2 hours in duration to the ocean floor. More typical dives are around 400 metres in depth and 30-45 minutes' duration. They feed on several species, in particular giant squid, octopi and demersal rays. Almost all we know about deep sea squid has been learned from specimens found in captured Sperm Whale stomachs. Stories about titanic battles between Sperm Whales and Giant Squid which may be 10 metres long or more are perhaps the stuff of legend -- such a battle has never been observed. However, white scars on the bodies of Sperm Whales are believed to be caused by squid. They are prodigious feeders and eat around 3% of their body weight per day. The total consumption of prey by Sperm Whales worldwide is estimated to be about 100 million tons -- a figure comparable with the total consumption of marine animals by humans each year.
The physiology of the Sperm Whale has several adaptations to cope with drastic changes in pressure when diving. The ribcage is flexible to allow lung collapse, and the heart rate can decrease to preserve oxygen supplies. Myoglobin stores oxygen in muscle tissue. Blood can be directed towards the brain and other essential organs only when oxygen levels deplete. The spermaceti organ may also play a role (see above).
Between dives the Sperm Whale will come up to the surface for breath and remain more or less still for eight to ten minutes before diving again.
The social structure of the Sperm Whales species divides on sexual lines. Females are extremely social animals, a trait believed to derive from their relatively simple evolutionary path. Females stay in groups of about a dozen individuals and their young. Males leave these 'nursery schools' at somewhere between 4 and 21 years of age and join a 'bachelor school' with other males of a similar age and size. As males grow older they tend to disperse into smaller groups and the oldest males typically live solitary lives. Yet mature males have been stranded on beaches together, suggesting a degree of co-operation not yet fully understood.
Distribution
The Sperm Whale is among the most cosmopolitan species in the world. The species is relatively abundant from arctic waters to the equator. Populations are more dense close to continental shelves and canyons, probably because of easier feeding. Sperm Whales are usually found in deep off-shore waters but may be seen closer to shore in areas where the continental shelf is small.
Population and hunting
The total number of Sperm Whales throughout the world is unknown. Crude estimates, obtained by surveying small areas and extrapolating the result to all the world's oceans, range from 200,000 to 2,000,000 individuals. Although the Sperm Whale was hunted for several centuries for its meat, oil (used as a lubricant in submarines) and spermaceti (used in candles) the conservational outlook for Sperm Whales is brighter than many other whales. Whaling is now completely banned, fishermen do not catch the deep-sea creatures that Sperm Whales eat and the deep sea is likely to be more immune to pollution than surface layers. However, the recovery from the whaling years is a slow process, particularly in the South Pacific, where the toll on males of a breeding age was severe.
Watching Sperm Whales
Sperm Whales are not the easiest of whales to watch due to their long dive times and ability to travel long distances underwater. However, due to the distinctive look and large size of the Sperm, watching is increasingly popular. Sperm Whale watchers often use hydrophones to listen to the clicks of the whales and locate them before they surface. Popular locations for Sperm Whale watching include the picturesque Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island, where the continental shelf is so narrow that whales can be observed from the shore, and Andenes in arctic Norway.
In the news
In July 2003 a huge blob of white flesh was found washed up on a beach on the coast of southern Chile. The 40-foot-long mass of gelatinous tissue gave rise to speculation that a previously unknown giant octopus had been discovered. However researchers at the Museum of Natural History, Santiago concluded that the mass was in fact the innards of a Sperm Whale, a conclusion drawn by looking at the dermal glands. When a Sperm Whale dies its internal organs rot until the animal becomes little more than a semi-liquid mass trapped inside the skin. In this case the skin eventually burst causing the internal mass to float free and eventually wash up on the beach.
References
- Whales & Dolphins : The Ultimate Guide to Marine Mammals, Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce and Gill, Collins Books, ISBN 0002201054
- National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World, Alfred A. Knopf Publications ISBN 0375411410
- Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Perrin, Wursig and Thewissen (eds), ISBN 0125513402
- Cetacean Societies Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, Mann, Connor, Tyack and Whitehead (eds), ISBN 0226503410
- On The Trail Of The Whale (chapter 1), Carwardine ISBN 1899074007
- Order Cetacea by Mead and Brownell in Mammal Species of the World, Wilson and Reeder (eds), Smithsonian Institute Press.
External links
- A discussion of the role of the case
- 3D computer animations of the internal structure of a Sperm Whale's head
- Spermaceti in candles
- Analysis of major cetacean lineages
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sperm Whale."
Synonyms: SpermSynonyms: sperm cell (n), spermatozoan (n), spermatozoon (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Cause | Rudiment. egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule, radicle, semen, sperm. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | He has a low sperm count (Three Men and a Baby; writing credit: Jim Cruickshank; James Orr) Soon you'll be dating sperm. (City Slickers; writing credit: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel) I went to the clinic and got some frozen sperm. I brought it home, defrosted it, inserted it, andand I'm pregnant (Look Who's Talking; writing credit: Amy Heckerling) Its been three days and my mind is clearer, my sperm count is up and I'm able to recognise simple shapes and patterns (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) Full of sperm. (10 Things I Hate About You; writing credit: Karen McCullah Lutz; Kirsten Smith) | |
Lyrics | But I can bust you out with my super sperm! ("Rapper's Delight"; performing artist: Sugarhill Gang) Whose name he earned with his super sperm ("Rapper's Delight"; performing artist: Sugarhill Gang) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Hot for Sperm & Anal (1995) The Howard Sperm Show (1993) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Sperm whales - Physeter macrocephalus. Credit: NOAA's Ark (Animals). |  | Sperm whale surfacing in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Sperm whale blowing - note forward angle of exhalation. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Grinding and pressing crude spermaceti for removal of taut-pressed oil. Interior view of oil refinery. Filling bottles with sperm oil. In: "Aquatic Products in Arts and Industries" by Charles H. Stevenson. Report of the Commissioner for the Year Ending June 30, 1902. P. 200, Plate 14. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Plate 1. The Sperm Whale. Physeter Macrocephalus, L. Credit: National Marine Fisheries Historical Image Collection. |  | Plate 2. The Pygmy Sperm Whale. Kogia Goodei, True. The Blackfish. Globiocephalus melas (Traill.). Credit: National Marine Fisheries Historical Image Collection. |
 | Cutting in the bowhead and sperm whales Drawings by Capt. C. M. Scammon and Capt. W. M. Barnes. Credit: National Marine Fisheries Historical Image Collection. |  | "Bailing in the case " of a sperm whale Drawing by H. W. Elliott from a French lithograph designed by B. Russell. Credit: National Marine Fisheries Historical Image Collection. |
 | Lawrence Johnson, who is at the Germplasm and Gamete Physiology Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, has developed a system for sorting batches of livestock sperm cells based on the amount of DNA they carry. The X-bearing sperm carry more DNA, which can be measured using a fluorescent dye and a laser. Based on the light they emit, the X and Y sperm can be collected in separate tubes. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |  | Sperm Whale. Credit: Alaska Image Library. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Ultrasonic sperm whale communication. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
E. M. Cioran | Sperm is a bandit in its pure state. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Ask about the cost of sperm banking. (references) | |
Unlike eggs, sperm are produced in the millions. (references) | ||
After vasectomy, the testes continue to make sperm. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Sperm" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 53.58% of the time. "Sperm" is used about 377 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 53.58% | 202 | 21,454 |
| Noun (common) | 44.56% | 168 | 24,050 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 1.06% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.8% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 377 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "sperm": crude sperm oil ♦ dwarf sperm whale ♦ pullet sperm ♦ pygmy sperm whale ♦ Sperm Agglutination ♦ sperm bank ♦ sperm banking ♦ Sperm Banks ♦ Sperm Capacitation ♦ sperm cell ♦ sperm count ♦ sperm donor ♦ Sperm Head ♦ Sperm Immobilizing Agents ♦ Sperm Maturation ♦ sperm morula ♦ Sperm Motility ♦ sperm oil ♦ sperm retrieval ♦ Sperm Tail ♦ Sperm Transport ♦ sperm whale ♦ the Denticete including the dolphins and sperm whale which have teeth Another suborder Zeuglodontia is extinct The Sirenia were formerly included in the Cetacea but are now made a separate order. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "sperm": sperm-and-egg, sperm-bank, sperm-bearing, sperm-count, Sperm-Ovum, Sperm-Ovum Interactions, sperm-whale, Sperm-whale porpoise. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
sperm | 1,979 | sperm shot | 51 |
sperm shack | 833 | blood in sperm | 51 |
sperm bank | 688 | horse sperm | 49 |
sperm whale | 282 | sperm whale picture | 48 |
sperm count | 185 | sperm eater | 43 |
low sperm count | 143 | sperm motility | 42 |
sperm donation | 131 | sperm picture | 42 |
sperm donors | 117 | dog sperm | 40 |
sperm donor | 103 | sperm bath | 40 |
sperm life | 100 | in pussy sperm | 37 |
sperm swallowing | 93 | increase sperm | 37 |
increase sperm count | 80 | sperm facial | 36 |
sperm eating | 62 | sperm morphology | 36 |
drinking sperm | 58 | gay sperm | 36 |
sperm face | 55 | male sperm | 35 |
sperm production | 54 | lifespan sperm | 35 |
sperm drink | 54 | donor sperm | 34 |
swallow sperm | 54 | does live long sperm | 34 |
sperm pussy | 53 | bukkake sperm | 33 |
sperm freezing | 52 | catch sperm | 32 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "sperm"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | sperma. (various references) | |
Albanian | spermë (semen, spermatozoon), farë (egg, embryo, germ, pip, seed, semen, sort, spawn, species). (various references) | |
Arabic | مني (semen), نطفة (semen), زيت العنبر, جرثومة (embryo, germ, microbe, taint, virus), المني الحيوان المنوي, العنبر حوت عظيم (cachalot), بذرة (germ, grain, kernel, pip, seed, seedling, sowing, spore). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | спермацет (sperm oil, spermaceti), сперма (seed, semen, seminal fluid), кашалот (cachalot, sperm whale). (various references) | |
Chinese | 精液 (semen, seminal), 精子 . (various references) | |
Czech | spermie, sperma (seed, semen), chám. (various references) | |
Danish | spermatozo (sperm cell, spermatozoon), sperma (semen, sperm cell, spermatozoon), saed (semen), sædcelle (sperm cell, spermatozoon). (various references) | |
Dutch | sperma (semen), zaad (germ, offspring, seed). (various references) | |
Esperanto | spermo, ĉuro. (various references) | |
Faeroese | spina, sáð, ísáð. (various references) | |
Farsi | منی دانه , منی (Semen), موجب ایجادچیزی , نطفه (Semen), بذر (Seed, Spawn). (various references) | |
Finnish | siittiösolu (sperm cell, spermatozoon), siittiö (spermatozoon). (various references) | |
French | sperme. (various references) | |
German | Sperma (semen), Samen (seed, semen), Spermium (spermatozoa). (various references) | |
Greek | σπέρμα (germ, seed, semen). (various references) | |
Hebrew | זרעון (achene, seed, spermatozoon), זרע (corn, germ, offspring, seed, semen). (various references) | |
Hungarian | sperma (seed, semen), ondó (jisom, jissom, seed, semen, spunk), cetvelő (junk). (various references) | |
Indonesian | air mani (semen). (various references) | |
Italian | sperma (semen). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 精虫 , 精子 , スペックル干渉計 (cum, semen, sparing, special purpose, speckle interferometer, spell, spelling, spelunker, spencer jacket, spoke, spokesman, spokesperson, spokeswoman, sport, sports car, sports center, sports club, sports drink, sports event, sports fair, sports programmer, sports shoes, sports test, sports trainer, sportscaster, sportsman, sportsmanship, sportswear, sportswoman, sportswriter, superiority complex), サーボ機構 (cermet, cum, cycasin, cycle, cyclic, cycling, cycling course, cyclist, psi, psychics, salmon, salmon pink, science, science fiction, scientific, scientist, scientology, Searle, semen, servomechanism, sialon, sirloin, sirloin steak, thermal printer, thermistor, thermoconcrete, thermoelement, thermometer, thermostat, thiabendazole), カルバン主義 (California, Calpis, Calvinism, cum, semen). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | せいちゅう (adult, control, imago, loyalty, restraint, restriction, the exact middle), せいし (authentic history, check, chief delegate, control, family name, filature, full name, heir, history, imperial command, inhibition, life and death, looking straight ahead, meditation, oath, paper making or manufacturing, pledge, repose, restraint, senior envoy, silk reeling, spinning, standing still, stillness, successor, viewing sincerely, vow, written oath), スペルマ (cum, semen), サーメン (cum, semen), カル"ス (Calpis, cum, semen). (various references) | |
Korean | 액 (semen, seminal). (various references) | |
Manx | sheel (issue, lineage, oats, offspring, pip, seed, spunk). (various references) | |
Papiamen | speshi, djus (juice, sap). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ermspay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | esperma (cum, semen). (various references) | |
Romanian | spermã (cum, jizz, seed), sãmânţã (seed, semen, species, trace). (various references) | |
Russian | сперма (semen). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | sperma (cum, jizz). (various references) | |
Spanish | esperma (semen). (various references) | |
Swedish | spermie (sperm cell, spermatozoon), sperma (semen). (various references) | |
Turkish | sperma (come, seed, semen, seminal fluid, spermatic, spermatic fluid, spermo-), sperm (seminal, spermatozoon), meni (come, seed, semen, seminal fluid, spermatic fluid), ispermeçet (spermaceti), balina yağı (blubber, sperm oil, spermaceti, train oil, whale oil). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | сім'я (household, kindred, seed), сперма (semen), кашалот (cachalot, sperm whale). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | dầu cá nh táng (sperm-oil). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | sperma. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | sperma. (various references) |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | sperma. (various references) |
| Medieval Latin | 700-1500 | sperma ceti. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "sperm": spermaceti, spermacetis, spermagonia, spermagonium, spermaries, spermary, spermatheca, spermathecae, spermatia, spermatial, spermatic, spermatid, spermatids, spermatium, spermatocyte, spermatocytes, spermatogeneses, spermatogenesis, spermatogenic, spermatogonia, spermatogonial, spermatogonium, spermatophore, spermatophores, spermatophyte, spermatophytes, spermatophytic, spermatozoa, spermatozoal, spermatozoan, spermatozoans, spermatozoid, spermatozoids, spermatozoon, spermic, spermicidal, spermicide, spermicides, spermine, spermines, spermiogeneses, spermiogenesis, spermophile, spermophiles, spermous, sperms. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "sperm": angiosperm, endosperm, gymnosperm, oosperm, pteridosperm, zoosperm. (additional references) | |
Words containing "sperm": agamospermies, agamospermy, angiospermous, angiosperms, azoospermia, azoospermias, endosperms, gymnospermies, gymnospermous, gymnosperms, gymnospermy, oosperms, pteridosperms, zoosperms. (additional references) | |
| |
"Sperm" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: asperum, Epsrc, esper, espereme, Espero, sbem, sepr, sjperm, skern, smern, spamm, speam, spearm, spearn, speery, spem, sperd, sperma, sperme, spern, spernd, spert, spery, speum, spewm, spirem, spre, sprm, spurm, sqer, sterm, zerm. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: perms. | |
| Words within the letters "e-m-p-r-s" | |
-1 letter: perm, rems, reps. | |
-2 letters: ems, ers, per, pes, rem, rep, res, ser. | |
-3 letters: em, er, es, me, pe, re. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-m-p-r-s" | |
+1 letter: mopers, primes, proems, remaps, sempre, simper, sperms, spirem. | |
+2 letters: amperes, bumpers, campers, dampers, deperms, dumpers, empires, empress, emprise, epimers, hampers, imposer, impresa, imprese, impress, imprest, jumpers, lampers, limpers, lumpers, mappers, moppers, mumpers, oosperm, palmers, pampers, permits, pismire, preamps, prearms, prelims, premeds, premies, premise, premiss, presume, primers, primsie, promise, pumpers, repumps, restamp, revamps, rimples, rompers, rumples, sampler, scamper, semipro, simpers, simpler, spammer, spermic, spireme, spirems, spumier, stamper, stomper, stumper, sumpter, supreme, supremo, swamper, tampers, tempers, trompes, umpires, vampers. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Sounds | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Derivations | 17. Anagrams 18. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
