germ

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /d͡ʒɝm/ UK /d͡ʒɜːm/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #19636

Meanings

1

noun
A very small living thing that can cause disease, such as a bacterium or virus.

Wash your hands to avoid spreading germs.
2

noun
The first small beginning of an idea or plan.

A casual chat contained the germ of their business idea.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a very small living thing... microbe

2 noun · the first small beginning... seed source

Word family

Forms germinalgerms

Derived forms antigermdegermdysgerminomagerm-freegerm-plasmgerm-riddengermbandgermicidalgermicidegerminalgerminationgerminative

Related forms bacteriagermangermane germen germinate germination microbe parasite virus

Etymology

From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen.

*ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European germe Middle French germen Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# germ

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** d͡ʒɝm
**IPA (UK):** d͡ʒɜːm
**Frequency rank:** 19636

## Meanings
1. A very small living thing that can cause disease, such as a bacterium or virus.
2. The first small beginning of an idea or plan.

## Examples
- Wash your hands to avoid spreading germs.
- A casual chat contained the germ of their business idea.

## Derived Forms
- antigerm
- degerm
- dysgerminoma
- germ-free
- germ-plasm
- germ-ridden
- germband
- germicidal
- germicide
- germinal
- germination
- germinative

## Related Forms
- bacteria
- german
- germane
- germen
- germinate
- germination
- microbe
- parasite
- virus

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵenh₁-
- Root: germe
- Root: germen

## Etymology
From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen.

## AI Etymology
Germ comes from Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen. In current use, the main senses are “A very small living thing that can cause disease, such as a bacterium or virus” and “The first small beginning of an idea or plan”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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germ

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