Main Entry:

germ

Pronunciation:

\ˈjərm\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

French germe, from Latin germin-, germen, from gignere to beget — more at kin

Date:

1644

1 a: a small mass of living substance capable of developing into an organism or one of its parts b: the embryo with the scutellum of a cereal grain that is usually separated from the starchy endosperm during milling2: something that initiates development or serves as an origin : rudiments, beginning3: microorganism ; especially : a microorganism causing disease