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definitions

germ plasm

noun
  1. the protoplasm of the germ cells containing the chromosomes.

Origin of germ plasm

First recorded in 1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for germ plasm

Historical Examples of germ plasm

  • Why should not this germ-plasm, this eternal ghost, be infinitely sophisticated?

    The Secret Life

    Elizabeth Bisland

  • The theory of germ-plasm gives no causal explanation whatever of them.

    The Wonders of Life

    Ernst Haeckel

  • The new view is, that instincts arise from variations in the germ-plasm.

    Homo-culture

    Martin Luther Holbrook

  • The explanation is, the germ-plasm was not in any way affected by the bodily mutilation.

    Homo-culture

    Martin Luther Holbrook

  • There is, therefore, continuity of the germ-plasm from one generation to another.

British Dictionary definitions for germ plasm

germ plasm

noun
    1. the part of a germ cell that contains hereditary material; the chromosomes and genes
    2. the germ cells collectivelyCompare somatoplasm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
germ plasm in Medicine

germ plasm

n.
  1. The cytoplasm of a germ cell, especially that part containing the chromosomes.
  2. Germ cells as distinguished from other body cells.
  3. Hereditary material; genes.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.