germ

See also: Germ, germ., and Germ.

English

Etymology

From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɜːm/
• (General American) enPR: jûrm, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɝm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)m

Noun

germ (plural germs)

1. (biology) The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud or spore.
2. A pathogenic microorganism.
   • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Stolen Bacillus:

     'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'

3. The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.
4. (figuratively) The origin of an idea or project.

   the germ of civil liberty

   • 1899 Feb, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, page 194:

     What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth? - the dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires.

5. (mathematics) An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.

Derived terms

terms derived from germ (noun)

• germicidal
• germicide
• germ warfare
• germ cell
• germicidal
• germicide
• germinal

• germinate
• germination
• germinative
• germ layer
• germ plasm
• germ theory

Translations

mass of cells

• Bulgarian: ембрио́н (bg) m (embrión), заро́диш (bg) m (zaródiš)
• Burmese: မျိုး (my) (myui:)
• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• Finnish: itiö (fi)
• French: germe (fr) m
• Galician: xerme m
• Georgian: ჩანასახი (čanasaxi), ემბრიონი (embrioni)
• German: Keim (de) m
• Greek: μικρόβιο (el) n (mikróvio)
• Hungarian: csíra (hu)
• Indonesian: kuman (id)
• Italian: germe (it) m

• Japanese: 胚芽 (はいが, haiga)
• Khmer: ជីវាណូ (ciivaanou), ពីជៈ (piicĕəʼ)
• Korean: 배아 (ko) (baea)
• Portuguese: germe (pt) m
• Romanian: microb (ro) m, germen (ro) m
• Russian: заро́дыш (ru) m (zaródyš), зача́ток (ru) m (začátok), эмбрио́н (ru) m (embrión)
• Slovak: klíček m
• Spanish: germen (es) m
• Swedish: mikrob (sv) c
• Tagalog: binhay
• Ukrainian: заро́док m (zaródok), ембріо́н m (embrión)
• Vietnamese: mộng (vi), mầm (vi)

pathogenic microorganism

• Arabic: جُرْثُومَة‎ (ar) f (jurṯūma)
• Belarusian: мікро́б m (mikrób)
• Bulgarian: микроб (bg) m (mikrob)
• Burmese: ပိုး (my) (pui:)
• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 細菌 (zh), 细菌 (zh) (xìjūn), 菌 (zh) (jūn)

• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• Finnish: mikrobi (fi)
• French: germe (fr) m
• Galician: xerme m
• Georgian: მიკრობი (miḳrobi)
• German: Keim (de) m
• Greek: μικρόβιο (el) n (mikróvio)
• Hindi: रोगाणु m (rogāṇu)
• Hungarian: csíra (hu), kórokozó (hu)
• Icelandic: sýkill (is) m
• Italian: microbo (it) m, germe (it) m
• Japanese: 細菌 (ja) (さいきん, saikin)

• Khmer: ក្រមី (km) (krɑməy)
• Korean: 세균 (ko) (segyun) (細菌 (ko))
• Lao: ເຊື້ອ (sư̄a), ຕົວພະຍາດ (tūa pha nyāt), ແມ່ພະຍາດ (mǣ pha nyāt), ເຊື້ອໂລກ (sư̄a lōk)
• Luxembourgish: Keim m
• Malay: kuman
• Maori: kitakita, moroiti tahumaero
• Mongolian: нян (mn) (nyan)
• Nepali: किटाणु (ne) (kiṭāṇu)
• Persian: جرم‎ (fa) (jerm)
• Polish: zarazek (pl) m, mikrob (pl) m, bakcyl (pl) m
• Portuguese: germe (pt) m
• Romanian: germen (ro) m, microb (ro) m
• Russian: микро́б (ru) m (mikrób)
• Spanish: germen (es) m
• Swedish: mikrob (sv) c
• Thai: เชื้อ (th) (chʉ́ʉa), เชื้อโรค (th) (chʉ́ʉa-rôok)
• Tibetan: ནད་འབུ (nad 'bu)
• Ukrainian: мікро́б m (mikrób)
• Vietnamese: vi khuẩn (vi) (微菌), vi trùng (微蟲)

idea

• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• Finnish: siemen (fi)
• French: germe (fr) m
• Galician: xerme m
• Georgian: ჩანასახი (čanasaxi)
• Hungarian: csíra (hu)

• Japanese: 芽生え (mebae)
• Polish: zalążek (pl) m
• Portuguese: germe (pt) m
• Romanian: germen (ro) m, cauză (ro) f, sămânță (ro) f
• Russian: зача́ток (ru) m (začátok)
• Swedish: frö (sv) n

embryo of a seed

• Asturian: xerme m
• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Finnish: itu (fi)
• Galician: xerme m
• Georgian: ბუტკო (buṭḳo)
• Portuguese: germe (pt) m

• Romanian: germen (ro) m, embrion (ro) m
• Russian: за́вязь (ru) f (závjazʹ)
• Spanish: germen (es) m
• Ukrainian: за́в'язь f (závʺjazʹ)
• Vietnamese: mầm (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 세균 (ko) (segyun)

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 毒菌 (zh)

Verb

germ (third-person singular simple present germs, present participle germing, simple past and past participle germed)

1. To germinate.
   • 1909, Thomas Hardy, The Flirt's Tragedy

     Thus tempted, the lust to avenge me / Germed inly and grew.

2. (slang) To grow, as if parasitic.
   • 2011, Black Eyed Peas, Just Can't Get Enough

     I’m addicted, want to germ inside your love

See also

• bacteria
• microbe
• parasite
• virus

Further reading

• germ in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• germ in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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Northern Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *garmáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gʰarmás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰor-mó-s. Cognate with Persian گرم‎ (garm) and English warm.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛɾm

Adjective

germ (comparative germtir, superlative germtirîn)

1. warm

Derived terms

• germahî

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Zazaki

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *garmáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gʰarmás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰor-mó-s. Cognate with Persian گرم‎ (garm) and English warm.

Adjective

germ

1. warm

Derived terms

• germey
• germin
• germın