germen

American  

[jur-muhn] / ˈdʒɜr mən /

noun

Archaic.

plural

germens, germina

1. a germ.

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germen British  

/ ˈdʒɜːmən /

noun

1. rare biology the mass of undifferentiated cells that gives rise to the germ cells

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Etymology

Origin of germen

From Latin, dating back to 1595–1605; germ

Example Sentences

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

From The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition by Darwin, Charles

The stamina are six, with one stile, growing from the germen, which stands up in three brownish segments, resembling a cup.

From The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants by Marsden, William

The germen becomes an oblong, bottle-shaped fruit, divided into six cells, containing flat, oblong seeds.

From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous

Thus every botanist considers petals, nectaries, stamens, pistils, germen as metamorphosed leaf.

From The Foundations of the Origin of Species Two Essays written in 1842 and 1844 by Darwin, Francis, Sir

But the stamens, being shorter than the germen, cannot discharge the pollen so as to throw it upon the stigma, as the flower stands always upright till after impregnation.

From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Poe, Edgar Allan