Seminary? or Semen-ary?



"seminary, n. [Latin,seminarium <semen, seminis, seed.]
A school, college or university in which men and women are instructed in preparation to become rabbis, priests, or ministers."

"semen, n. [Latin, <root of sero, to sow.] The whitish, viscous substance which carries spermatozoa, and is secreted by the male reproductive organs."

"disseminate v.t.[Latin, dissemino, to scatter seed], To spead or scatter, as seeds; to diffuse; to scatter widely , esp. information, knowledge, or doctrines."

"ejaculate, n. [Latin, ejacular, ejaculatus---e-, out, and jaculum, a dart, <jacio, to throw.] The semen ejected in an ejaculation."

Source: New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, Ency. Edition, Delair, 1980.

Public relations people would probably spin this word root association into, "a place where the seeds of knowledge are sown in the fertile minds of young people." But what if the 'seeds' being sown are not the truth as you understand it, but illicit, heretical seeds of adulterated knowledge?
There are "more than 250 religious bodies in the US . . . "., according to the
Handbook of Denominations in the United States (Frank S. Mead, 1980, Abingdon).

There are more than 33,800 "Christian" denominations as of the year 2000 with hundreds more being added each year, particularly in third world nations where Christianity is growing fastest.

If the knowledge being "disseminated" conforms to any of the 249 religions or 33,799 denominations other than your own, then you may find the mental imagery fitting and accurate.
The specific definitions may suggest a somewhat vulgar image of what goes on at religious institutions. Aside from possible extra-curricular parallels, it appears that it would be technically
correct to also refer to a seminary as an 'ejaculatorium'. Instead of saying, "I matriculated at
BJ Univ."*, one could correctly say, "I was inseminated at Oral U."**, or "I was ejaculated from the school at Rome".

*(Bob Jones Univ.).
**(Oral Roberts Univ.).

 

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