germ

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“
Nevertheless it will be instructive to glance at the theories which have been put forward to explain this matter All living things spring from a small germ, and in the vast majority of cases this germ is the product in part of the male and in part of the female parent.

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Definitions (15)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun Biology A small mass of protoplasm or cells from which a new organism or one of its parts may develop.
  2. noun The earliest form of an organism; a seed, bud, or spore.
  3. noun A microorganism, especially a pathogen.
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Examples (50)

  • A: The salmonella germ is actually a group of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. —  NBC Miami - News Top Stories
  • The salmonella germ is actually a group of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. —  WSBTV.com - Local News
  • Although the conventional view of infectious disease is that the germ (bacteria or virus) "caused" the illness, another way to view infectious disease is that the germ is a co-factor in the infectious disease. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
  • Nevertheless it will be instructive to glance at the theories which have been put forward to explain this matter All living things spring from a small germ, and in the vast majority of cases this germ is the product in part of the male and in part of the female parent. —  Science and Morals and Other Essays
  • That "the germ is an energy complex" is no doubt an unproved hypothesis, as he admits, but is quite likely. —  Science and Morals and Other Essays
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

bacteria ·  seed ·  essence ·  virus ·  beginning ·  microbe ·  manifestation ·  conception ·  trace ·  element ·  spark ·  origin

Used in the same contextWord Family

germ:   germs
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, bud, from Old French germe, from Latin germen; see genə- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also germe (and germen, germin, q. v.); from French germe = Provencal germe, germ = Spanish gérmen = Portuguese germen, germe = Italian germe, from Latin germen, a sprig, offshoot, sprout, bud, germ, embryo; origin uncertain.
 

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/dʒərm/
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