germen

See also: gérmen

English

Etymology

From Latin germen (“germ, seed”). Doublet of germ.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒɜː.mən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/
• Homophone: German
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)mən

Noun

germen (plural germens or germina)

1. (biology) The basic form of an organism; the seed or germ.

Anagrams

• Mergen

Latin

Etymology

From earlier *genmen via dissimilation, from Proto-Italic *genamen, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥ (“offspring”, “seed”), from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to beget”, “to give birth”). Equivalent to gignō (“to beget”) +‎ -men (noun-forming suffix). Compare with genimen.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɡɛr.mɛn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈd͡ʒɛr.men]

Noun

germen n (genitive germinis); third declension

1. shoot, sprout, bud

   Synonyms: pampinus, pullus

2. germ, seed, origin
3. embryo, fetus

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	germen	germina
genitive	germinis	germinum
dative	germinī	germinibus
accusative	germen	germina
ablative	germine	germinibus
vocative	germen	germina

Derived terms

• germānus
• germināscō
• germinō

Related terms

• germinātiō
• germinātus

Descendants

• Galician: xerme, xermolo
• Italian: germe
• → Catalan: germen
• → English: germ, germen
• → French: germe
• → Occitan: gèrme
• → Portuguese: germe
• → Romanian: germen
• → Spanish: germen

Further reading

• “germen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “germen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “germen”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Romanian

Alternative forms

• germene

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin germen.

Noun

germen m (plural germeni)

1. embryo

   Synonym: embrion

2. (biology) seed, germ (small mass of cells from which an organism grows)
3. germ

   Synonym: microb

4. principle, element, component

   Synonyms: principiu, element

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	germen	germenul	germeni	germenii
genitive-dative	germen	germenului	germeni	germenilor
vocative	germenule		germenilor

Related terms

• germina
• germinare
• germinat
• germinabil
• germinabilitate

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥

Proto-Italic *genamen

Latin *genmen

Latin germenbor.

Spanish germen

Borrowed from Latin germen (“germ, seed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxeɾmen/ [ˈxeɾ.mẽn]
• Rhymes: -eɾmen
• Syllabification: ger‧men

Noun

germen m (plural gérmenes)

1. germen
2. microbe, microorganism
3. (figurative) seed, origin

Derived terms

• germicida

Related terms

• germinar

Further reading

• “germen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025