Germ

[germ]

A germ is a tiny life form that spreads disease. Germs are also small things that grow into larger things whether animals, plants, or ideas.

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That which is to develop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears.

Noun
a minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical use

Noun
a small simple structure (as a fertilized egg) from which new tissue can develop into a complete organism

Noun
anything that provides inspiration for later work

n.
That which is to develop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears.

n.
That from which anything springs; origin; first principle; as, the germ of civil liberty.

v. i.
To germinate.

Germ

Germ , n. [F. germe, fr. L. germen, germinis, sprout, but, germ. Cf. Germen, Germane.] 1. (Biol.) That which is to develop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears.
In the entire process in which a new being originates . . . two distinct classes of action participate; namely, the act of generation by which the germ is produced; and the act of development, by which that germ is evolved into the complete organism.
2. That from which anything springs; origin; first principle; as, the germ of civil liberty. Disease germ (Biol.), a name applied to certain tiny bacterial organisms or their spores, such as Anthrax bacillus and the Micrococcus of fowl cholera, which have been demonstrated to be the cause of certain diseases. See Germ theory (bellow). -- Germ cell (Biol.), the germ, egg, spore, or cell from which the plant or animal arises. At one time a part of the body of the parent, it finally becomes detached,and by a process of multiplication and growth gives rise to a mass of cells, which ultimately form a new individual like the parent. See Ovum. -- Germ gland. (Anat.) See Gonad. -- Germ stock (Zo'94l.), a special process on which buds are developed in certain animals. See Doliolum. -- Germ theory (Biol.), the theory that living organisms can be produced only by the evolution or development of living germs or seeds. See Biogenesis, and Abiogenesis. As applied to the origin of disease, the theory claims that the zymotic diseases are due to the rapid development and multiplication of various bacteria, the germs or spores of which are either contained in the organism itself, or transferred through the air or water. See Fermentation theory.

Germ

Germ , v. i. To germinate. [R.] J. Morley.

That which is to develop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears.

To germinate.

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Usage Examples

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.

The drama is complete poetry. The ode and the epic contain it only in germ it contains both of them in a state of high development, and epitomizes both.

Misspelled Form

Germ, Germ, erm, Germ, Gwerm, G3erm, G4erm, Grerm, Gserm, Gderm, Gwrm, G3rm, G4rm, Grrm, Gsrm, Gdrm, Gewrm, Ge3rm, Ge4rm, Gerrm, Gesrm, Gedrm, Geerm, Ge4rm, Ge5rm, Getrm, Gefrm, Geem, Ge4m, Ge5m, Getm, Gefm, Gerem, Ger4m, Ger5m, Gertm, Gerfm, Gernm, Gerjm, Gerkm, Ger,m, Ger m, Gern, Gerj, Gerk, Ger,, Ger , Germn, Germj, Germk, Germ,, Germ .

Other Usage Examples

There is in us a lyric germ or nucleus which deserves respect it bids a man to ponder or create and in this dim corner of himself he can take refuge and find consolations which the society of his fellow creatures does not provide.

A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.

Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.