seme

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma). Doublet of Zen, Chan, and dhyana.

noun

1. (linguistics, semiotics) Anything which serves for any purpose as a substitute for an object of which it is, in some sense, a representation, sign, or symbol.

Etymology 2

verb

1. Obsolete form of seem.

Etymology 3

noun

1. Obsolete form of seam.

Etymology 4

adj

1. Obsolete form of semé.

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Japanese 攻め (seme), derived from the verb 攻める (semeru, “to attack”).

noun

1. (Japanese fiction, fandom slang) An active or dominant male character in a same-sex relationship; a top.
   […] BL manga readers chose intelligence, protectiveness, and beauty/handsomeness as the top three most important traits in a seme […] 2008, Dru Pagliassotti, “Better Than Romance? Japanese BL Manga and the Subgenre of Male/Male Romantic Fiction”, in Antonia Levi, Mark McHarry, Dru Pagliassotti, editors, Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre, McFarland & Company (2008), page 73
   Sebas has always been the seme. 2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend's a Geek, volume 1, Yen Press (2012)
   The seme is larger, stronger, and more traditionally masculine, while the uke is smaller, weaker, and more feminine. 2011, Robin E. Brenner, Snow Wildsmith, “Love through a DIfferent Lens: Japanese Homoerotic Manga through the Eyes of American Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Other Sexualities Readers”, in Timothy Perper, Martha Cornog, editors, Mangatopia: Essays on Manga and Anime in the Modern World, Libraries Unlimited (2011), page 97