germe

See also: germé

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin germen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒɛʁm/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

germe m (plural germes)

1. germ (small mass of cells)
2. seed
3. bulb (of onion, garlic etc.)
4. (figuratively) seed (the principle cause)

Verb

germe

1. first-person singular present indicative of germer
2. third-person singular present indicative of germer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of germer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of germer
5. second-person singular imperative of germer

Further reading

• “germe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Latin germen (“seed; origin”), from Proto-Italic *genamen, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥ (“offspring, seed”), derived from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to give birth, to beget”).
Cognate with Irish giniúint (“procreation, birth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛr.me/, [ˈd͡ʒɛr̺me]
• Rhymes: -ɛrme
• Hyphenation: gèr‧me

Noun

germe m (plural germi)

1. (biology) germ
2. (literary) seed, sprout
3. (figurative) seed, beginning, origin
4. (figurative, archaic) son, offspring
   • 16th century, Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide‎^[1], Florence: Leonardo Ciardetti, translation of Aeneis by Virgil, published 1827, Libro VI, page 270:

     […] la Sibilla ¶ A dir riprese: Enea, germe del cielo, ¶ Lo scender ne l'Averno è cosa agevole; ¶ Chè notte e dì ne sta l'entrata aperta

     the sibyl continued, "O Aeneas, son of the heavens, descending into the Avernus is easy, for its entrance is open night and day

5. (figurative, archaic, rare) lineage, progeny

Derived terms

• germe di grano
• germicida

 

Related terms

• germinale
• germinare

 

Anagrams

• merge

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Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin germen.

Noun

germe m (plural germes)

1. seed (fertilized grain)

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• gérmen (rare in the sense of microorganism, otherwise common)

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to bear”) + *-mn̥.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʒɛɻ.me/

Noun

germe m (plural s)

1. germ (embryo of a seed)
2. germ; microorganism
3. germ (idea that forms the basis of some project)

Synonyms

• (embryo of a seed): embrião
• (microorganism): microorganismo, micróbio
• (idea): origem, ideia

Antonyms

• (embryo of a seed): casca, pericarpo

Related terms

• germano
• germicida
• germinação
• germinado

• germinador
• germinadouro
• germinal

• germinante
• germinar
• germinativo