germinant

American  

[jur-muh-nuhnt] / ˈdʒɜr mə nənt /

adjective

1. beginning to grow or develop; germinating.

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germinant British  

/ ˈdʒɜːmɪnənt /

adjective

1. in the process of germinating; sprouting

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Other Word Forms

• germinance noun
• germinancy noun
• ungerminant adjective

Etymology

Origin of germinant

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin germinant- (stem of germināns ), present participle of the verb germināre “to bud, sprout”

Explanation

Something germinant is just starting to grow or develop, such as a sprouting seed. More metaphorically, a budding romance could be described as germinant. The word germinant is derived from the Latin root germen, meaning "sprout" or "bud." As an adjective, it describes something that is just beginning to grow or emerge — a germinant seed, or germinant unrest among American colonists in the 1760s. As a noun, the word germinant refers to anything that causes or enables something to develop, as in "The bacteria produced spores after the introduction of a chemical germinant" or "Ignorance is the germinant of fear."

Example Sentences

The number of c.f.u. present on plates in the presence of a particular germinant expressed as a fold change with respect to the number of c.f.u. present on plates in the absence of a germinant.

From Nature • May 3, 2016

There was no statistically significant difference based on an unpaired t-test of each germinant condition against the no germinant condition.

From Nature • May 3, 2016

The number of c.f.u. present on plates in the presence of a particular germinant expressed as a fold change with respect to the number of c.f.u. present on plates in the absence of a germinant.

From Nature • May 3, 2016

There was no statistically significant difference based on an unpaired t-test of each germinant condition against the no germinant condition.

From Nature • May 3, 2016

Thus there was developed a germinant municipal feeling and organization.

From Outline of Universal History by Fisher, George Park