germ plasm

noun

the protoplasm of the germ cells containing the chromosomes.

Words nearby germ plasm

germ, germ cell, germ layer, germ line, germ membrane, germ plasm, germ theory, germ tube, germ warfare, germain, germaine

Origin of germ plasm

First recorded in 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for germ plasm

But the constitution of germ-plasm is much more complex than that of any of the structures which are developed therefrom.
Darwin, and After Darwin, Volume II (of 3)|George John Romanes
The explanation is, the germ-plasm was not in any way affected by the bodily mutilation.
Homo-culture|Martin Luther Holbrook
Why should not this germ-plasm, this eternal ghost, be infinitely sophisticated?
The Secret Life |Elizabeth Bisland
The somatoplasm can only in the most general way affect the self-perpetuating, close corporation of the germ-plasm.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler

Independent multiple factors in the germ-plasm, as in the case of wheat mentioned a few pages back.
Applied Eugenics|Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for germ plasm

germ plasm

noun

the part of a germ cell that contains hereditary material; the chromosomes and genes
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

Medical definitions for germ plasm

germ plasm

n.

The cytoplasm of a germ cell, especially that part containing the chromosomes.

Germ cells as distinguished from other body cells.

Hereditary material; genes.