germe
See also: germé
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin germen.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒɛʁm/
Audio (file)
Noun
germe m (plural germes)
- germ (small mass of cells)
- seed
- bulb (of onion, garlic etc.)
- (figuratively) seed (the principle cause)
Verb
germe
- inflection of germer:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “germe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
From Latin germen (“seed; origin”), from Proto-Italic *genamen, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥ (“offspring, seed”), derived from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to give birth, to beget”). Cognate with Irish giniúint (“procreation, birth”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛr.me/
- Rhymes: -ɛrme
- Hyphenation: gèr‧me
Noun
germe m (plural germi)
- (biology) germ
- (literary) seed, sprout
- 1822, Alessandro Manzoni, “La Pentecoste [The Pentecost]”, in Inni sacri [Sacred Hymns], collected in Opere varie di Alessandro Manzoni, Fratelli Rechiedei, lines 101–104, page 678:
- I doni tuoi benefica ¶ Nutra la tua virtude; ¶ Siccome il sol che schiude ¶ Dal pigro germe il fior
- May your benevolent virtue nourish your gifts, like the sun that opens the flower from the lazy sprout
-
- (figurative) seed, beginning, origin
- (Can we date this quote?), Niccolò Tommaseo, Dolore e speranza [Sorrow and Hope], collected in Poesie di Niccolò Tommaseo, Successori Le Monnier, lines 21–24, page 196:
- Senz'affanni non germoglia ¶ Dell'onore il germe santo ¶ Seminai, Signor, nel pianto; ¶ Nella gioia mieterò.
- The holy seed of honor blossoms not without trials. I sowed, o Lord, in weeping; I shall reap in joy.
-
- (figurative, archaic) son, offspring
- 16th century, Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide [Aeneid], Florence: Leonardo Ciardetti, translation of Aeneis by Virgil, published 1827, Libro VI, page 270:
- […] la Sibilla ¶ A dir riprese: Enea, germe del cielo, ¶ Lo scender ne l'Averno è cosa agevole; ¶ Chè notte e dì ne sta l'entrata aperta
- the sibyl continued, "O Aeneas, son of the heavens, descending into the Avernus is easy, for its entrance is open night and day
-
- (figurative, archaic, rare) lineage, progeny
Derived terms
- germe di grano
- germicida
Related terms
- germinale
- germinare
Anagrams
- merge
Middle French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin germen.
Noun
germe m (plural germes)
- seed (fertilized grain)
Portuguese
Alternative forms
- gérmen (rare in the sense of microorganism, otherwise common)
Etymology
From Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to bear”) + *-mn̥.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛʁ.mi/ [ˈʒɛɦ.mi]
- (São Paulo) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛɾ.mi/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛʁ.mi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛɻ.me/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛɾ.m(ɨ)/
- Hyphenation: ger‧me
Noun
germe m (plural germes)
- germ (embryo of a seed)
- Synonym: embrião
- Antonyms: casca, pericarpo
- germ; microorganism
- Synonyms: microorganismo, micróbio
- germ (idea that forms the basis of some project)
- Synonyms: origem, ideia
Related terms
- germano
- germicida
- germinação
- germinado
- germinador
- germinadouro
- germinal
- germinante
- germinar
- germinativo
Further reading
- “germe” in iDicionário Aulete.
- “germe” in Dicionário inFormal.
- “germe” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
- “germe” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2023.
- “germe” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
- “germe” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.