In his April 5, 1997 column, the language maven William Safire ventured that the pronunciation of seminal as “SEM-uh-null” in place of “SEE-muh-null” was an instance of academic bowdlerization - prissy professors covering up the fact that the word seminal comes from the word semen. Safire’s theory, however, would have to go to lengths worthy of Oliver Stone to explain why those professors, presumably hatching plots in their SEEminars, have also changed the pronunciations of vanity, sanity, cleanliness, brevity, and criminal to hide the fact that they come from vain, sane, clean, brief, and crime.