germ

See also: Germ, germ., and Germ.

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK), IPA^(key): /d͡ʒəːm/
• (US) 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

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: ембрион (bg) m (embrion), зародиш (bg) m (zarodiš)
• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• Finnish: itiö (fi)
• French: germe (fr) m
• German: Keim (de) m
• Greek: μικρόβιο (el) n (mikróvio)
• Hungarian: csíra (hu)
• Indonesian: kuman (id)
• Italian: germe (it) m

• Japanese: 胚芽 (haiga)
• 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)

pathogenic microorganism

• Arabic: جُرْثُومَة‎ (ar) f (jurṯūma)
• Belarusian: мікро́б m (mikrób)
• Bulgarian: микроб (bg) m (mikrob)
• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• French: germe (fr) m
• Galician: xerme m
• German: Keim (de) m
• Greek: μικρόβιο (el) n (mikróvio)
• 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)
• Korean: 세균 (ko) (segyun)
• Maori: kitakita
• Mongolian: нян (mn) (njan)
• 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
• Ukrainian: мікро́б m (mikrób)
• Vietnamese: mộng (vi)

idea

• Catalan: germen (ca) m
• Dutch: kiem (nl) m
• French: germe (fr) m
• Galician: xerme m
• Hungarian: csíra (hu)
• Japanese: 芽生え (mebae)

• Polish: zalążek 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
• Galician: xerme m
• 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.
   • Sir Walter Scott

     O for a withering curse to blast the germing of their wicked machinations.

   • Thomas Hardy

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

2. (slang) To grow, as if parasitic.
   • "I’m addicted, want to germ inside your love" - Just Can't Get Enough by the Black Eyed Peas

See also

• bacteria
• microbe
• parasite
• virus

Further reading

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

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Kurdish

Etymology

Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer-. Cognate with English warm.

Adjective

germ (comparative germtir, superlative germtirîn)

1. warm

Derived terms

• germahî