Crossword Genius

Influential name is working with the terminally ill (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

seminal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'influential' is the definition.
(seminal can mean important or influential)

'name is working with the terminally ill' is the wordplay.
'working with' indicates anagramming the letters (working with the letters).
'the terminally ill' becomes 'l' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'name'+'is'='nameis'
'nameis' anagrammed gives 'semina'.
'semina'+'l'='SEMINAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for seminal that I've seen before include "Major" , "Highly original" , "Majorly influential" , "Menials (anag) - creative" , "Giving rise to new developments by menials" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.