The English word "semen" comes from the Latin word "sēmen", which means "seed". In fact, "seed" was an old-fashioned name for semen. The Latin word "sēmen" itself came from another Latin word, "serěre", which means "to plant (a plant into the ground) or to sow (seeds in the earth)". It was once thought that semen was like a seed that grew into a baby after being "planted" inside a woman's body.