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germen

[jur-muh n]
noun, plural ger·mens, ger·mi·na [jur-muh-nuh] /ˈdʒɜr mə nə/. Archaic.
  1. a germ.

Origin of germen

From Latin, dating back to 1595–1605; see origin at germ
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for germen

Historical Examples of germen

  • The pistil is generally divisible into the ovary or germen, the style and the stigma.

  • Germen oblong, striated, curved slightly outwards, but at length becoming erect and rugged.

    Lachesis Lapponica

    Carl von Linn

  • Germen short, square, crowned with long white radiating down.

    Lachesis Lapponica

    Carl von Linn

  • In P. farinosa the germen is broadly obovate and the stigma capitate; here the germen is globose and the stigma has five points.

  • Mr. Berkeley found no difficulty, and had the stem impregnated as well as the germen.

    Fungi: Their Nature and Uses

    Mordecai Cubitt Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for germen

germen

noun plural -mens or -mina (-mɪnə)
  1. biology rare the mass of undifferentiated cells that gives rise to the germ cells

Word Origin for germen

C17: from Latin; see germ
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