germ
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
germ (plural germs)
- (biology) The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud or spore.
- 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.'
- 1895, H. G. Wells, The Stolen Bacillus
- The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.
- (figuratively) The origin of an idea or project.
- the germ of civil liberty
- (mathematics) An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from germ (noun)
Translations[edit]
mass of cells
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pathogenic microorganism
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idea
embryo of a seed
- 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
Verb[edit]
germ (third-person singular simple present germs, present participle germing, simple past and past participle germed)
- 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.
- Sir Walter Scott
- (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[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- germ in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- germ in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Kurdish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Related to Persian گرم (garm), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer-. Cognate with English warm.
Adjective[edit]
germ (comparative germtir, superlative germtirîn)
Derived terms[edit]
Zazaki[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Related to Persian گرم (garm).
Adjective[edit]
germ
Categories:
- English terms derived from the PIE root *ǵenh₁-
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Biology
- en:Mathematics
- English verbs
- English slang
- Kurdish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Kurdish lemmas
- Kurdish adjectives
- Kurdish 1-syllable words
- Zazaki lemmas
- Zazaki adjectives