germ | (noun) a minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical use | Synonyms: bug, microbe |
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(noun) a small apparently simple structure (as a fertilized egg) from which new tissue can develop into a complete organism | - |
(noun) anything that provides inspiration for later work | Synonyms: seed, source |
germander | (noun) any of various plants of the genus Teucrium | - |
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germaneness | (noun) pertinence by virtue of a close relation to the matter at hand | - |
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germanite | (noun) a rare reddish-grey mineral consisting of a copper iron germanium sulfide | - |
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germanium | (noun) a brittle grey crystalline element that is a semiconducting metalloid (resembling silicon) used in transistors; occurs in germanite and argyrodite | Synonyms: atomic number 32, Ge |
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germicide | (noun) an agent (as heat or radiation or a chemical) that destroys microorganisms that might carry disease | Synonyms: antimicrobial, antimicrobic, disinfectant |
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germination | (noun) the origin of some development | - |
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(noun) the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow | Synonyms: sprouting |