germ

CEFRB2

/d͡ʒɜːm/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A tiny organism that can cause disease.

  2. 02

    noun

    The beginning or basic part of an idea.

Examples

  • Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.

  • Antibodies work by attaching themselves to an invading germ.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus.

  2. The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud, spore, or zygote.

  3. The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.

More examples

In context

  • surgical removal of germs of wisdom teeth

  • the germ of civil liberty

  • Now all his ponderings, however excursive, wheeled round Isabel as their center; and back to her they came again from every excursion; and again derived some new, small germs for wonderment.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The doctor found a dangerous blank in the patient's blood sample.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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