Seeded (sports)
Etymology
A tennis term from the early 1900s, where top players were "seeded" through the draw so they wouldn’t eliminate each other in early rounds. The image is of scattering seeds so they don’t clump together. It now describes any pre-ranking that structures a competition or a queue.
adjective · /SEE-did/
Ranked in advance so the strongest competitors are kept apart until late in a contest.
What it names
The quiet power of the bracket-maker — how ordering the field shapes who meets whom, and when.
Example
The top-seeded firms were routed to separate review panels to avoid an early showdown.
Related idea
Being seeded is a favorable pre-ranking based on known strength, while a wildcard enters outside that ranking entirely.
adjective · /SEE-did/
Sown or planted with seed; or, of fruit, having had the seeds removed; or bearing seeds on the surface.
What it names
an agricultural or culinary state
Example
a freshly seeded lawn; seeded grapes; a seeded loaf
Related idea
Quite separate from the tournament sense — here it is literally about seeds. Compare fecund and fallow.