Wordology, Seminar

From the mid-15 century, "plot where plants are raised from seeds," from Latin seminarium "plant nursery, seed plot," figuratively, "breeding ground," from seminarius of seed, from semen (genitive seminis). It is also a school for training priests and commonly used for any school (especially academies for young ladies) from 1580s to 1930s. Also commonly used today to describe where business people go to waste time and money.