germinal

[ jur-muh-nl ]
See synonyms for germinal on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. being in the earliest stage of development: germinal ideas.

  2. of or relating to a germ or germs.

  1. of the nature of a germ or germ cell.

Origin of germinal

1
First recorded in 1800–10; from French or directly from Latin germin- (stem of germen “sprout, bud”; see origin at germ) + -al1

Other words from germinal

  • ger·mi·nal·ly, adverb
  • non·ger·mi·nal, adjective
  • sub·ger·mi·nal, adjective
  • sub·ger·mi·nal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby germinal

Other definitions for Germinal (2 of 2)

Germinal
[ jur-muh-nl; French zher-mee-nal ]

noun
  1. (in the French Revolutionary calendar) the seventh month of the year, extending from March 21 to April 19.

  2. (italics) a novel (1884) by Émile Zola.

Origin of Germinal

2
From French; see origin at germinal

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How to use germinal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for germinal (1 of 2)

germinal

/ (ˈdʒɜːmɪnəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or like germs or a germ cell

  2. of, or in the earliest stage of development; embryonic

Origin of germinal

1
C19: from New Latin germinālis, from Latin germen bud; see germ

Derived forms of germinal

  • germinally, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for Germinal (2 of 2)

Germinal

/ French (ʒɛrminal) /


noun
  1. the month of buds: the seventh month of the French revolutionary calendar, from March 22 to April 20

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