germ

germ

noun

Definition of GERM

the source from which something grows or develops <this hastily scribbled equation on a cocktail napkin became the germ of a new scientific theory>

Synonyms fountainhead, germ, origin, root, seedbed

Related Words font, fountain, spring, well, wellhead, wellspring; beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, genesis, inception, incipiency, launch, morning, onset, outset, start, threshold; creation, inauguration, origination