Germ
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
germ¹
- /d͡ʒɜːm/ UK
- /d͡ʒɝm/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)m
Where it comes from
From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen.
noun germs
- The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.
- The small mass of cells from which a part of an organism develops, or a macroscopic but immature form of that part; a bud. surgical removal of germs of wisdom teeth
- A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus. 'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'
- The origin or earliest version of an idea or project. the germ of civil liberty
- An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.
verb germs · germing · germed
- To germinate. Thus tempted, the lust to avenge me / Germed inly and grew.
- To grow, as if parasitic. I’m addicted, want to germ inside your love
Germ²
Where it comes from
Clipping of German, from the phonetic similarity to germ.
noun Germs
- a German person.
