English
spermule
Spermule comes from New Latin sperma ‘seed’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to scatter, strew’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sper-1‘to scatter, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spérmn̥1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spérmə1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπέρμα1spérma‘seed, semen’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900sperma2‘seed’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900spermulum2diminutive of sperma
- Englishtodayspermule2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin sperma
- 2 Wiktionary, English spermule
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sper-Wiktionary, Latin sperma‘to scatter, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spérmn̥Wiktionary, Latin spermareconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spérməWiktionary, Latin spermareconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπέρμαWiktionary, Latin spermaspérma‘seed, semen’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900spermaWiktionary, English spermule‘seed’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900spermulumWiktionary, English spermulediminutive of sperma
- EnglishtodayspermuleWiktionary, English spermule
Equivalent to sperm + -ule
Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to scatter, strew’
…
Proto-Hellenic *spérmə
Ancient Greek σπέρμα ‘seed, semen’
Latin sperma ‘seed, semen, sperm’
Middle English sperme
English sperm
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sper- ‘to scatter, strew’
spare, spiral, diaspora, sparkle, sprout, spurious, spore, spiro, 22 more
Today it means
noun A spermatozoon.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “spermule”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sperma. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sper- / spermule