seme meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

seme

noun

/ˈsiːm/ · [ˈsɪi̯m]

Etymology Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma).

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences, 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.

Derived terms: semic
Related terms: homosemic, homosemous, homosemy, polyseme, polysemic, polysemous, polysemy, semantic, semantics, semasiology, sematology, sememe, sememics, semiotic, semiotics, semon

seme

noun

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

Fiction, Lifestyle, Literature, Media, Publishing Japanese, 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), →ISBN, page 73:
Sebas has always been the seme.2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend's a Geek, volume 1, Yen Press (2012), →ISBN:

1 more example

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), →ISBN, page 97:

Antonyms: uke