germ

See also: Germ, germ., and Germ.

germ - English

Pronunciation

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

Noun

germ (plural germs)

  1. (biology) The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud, spore, or zygote.
    1. The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.
    2. (biology) The small mass of cells from which a part of an organism develops, or a macroscopic but immature form of that part; a bud.
      • Coordinate term: vesicle
      • Derived terms: germectomy
      • surgical removal of germs of wisdom teeth
  2. A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus.
  3. (figurative) The origin or earliest version of an idea or project.
    • the germ of civil liberty
  4. (mathematics) An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.

Derived terms

terms derived from germ (noun)

Translations

Verb

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

  1. To germinate.
  2. (slang) To grow, as if parasitic.

germ - Northern Kurdish

Adjective

germ (comparative germtir, superlative germtirîn)

  1. warm

Derived terms

  • germahî

germ - Zazaki

Adjective

germ

  1. warm

Derived terms

Meaning and Definition of germ
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