Seeding

How to spell seeding

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce seeding

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does seeding mean?

1. nounThe act or process of sowing or scattering seed to grow plants, grass or crops.
2. nounThe process of ranking or arranging competitors in a tournament draw according to ability.

Seeding in a sentence

• The seeding of the new lawn took place in early spring.

• Her high seeding meant she avoided the strongest players in the early rounds.

• Careful seeding of the field produced an even crop that autumn.

• The committee reviewed the seeding before publishing the official draw.

Where does seeding come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base word goes back to the Old English sǣd, meaning the grain or kernel that a plant produces and that is sown to grow another, and it belongs to a wider Germanic family that includes the Dutch zaad and the German Saat. The same ancient root also gave English the verb 'to sow', since sowing is simply the act of scattering seed. By adding the productive ending -ing, English forms the verbal noun and present participle 'seeding', describing the ongoing act of planting or producing seed. Over time the figurative uses grew: gardeners and farmers spoke of seeding a field, scientists of seeding clouds to make rain, and from the early twentieth century sports organisers borrowed the word for arranging strong competitors through a draw, as if planting them carefully in the bracket. The doubled 'e' is the spelling point to remember, mirroring the simple noun 'seed' rather than any silent letter.

How the word is built

• seed (Old English sǣd: that which is sown)
• -ing (verbal noun / present participle suffix)