[
jurm] 
| 1. | a microorganism, esp. when disease-producing; microbe. |
| 2. | a bud, offshoot, or seed. |
| 3. | the rudiment of a living organism; an embryo in its early stages. |
| 4. | the initial stage in development or evolution, as a germ cell or ancestral form. |
| 5. | something that serves as a source or initial stage for subsequent development: the germ of an idea. |
| 6. | Pathology. of, pertaining to, or caused by disease-producing germs. |
| germ (jûrm) n.
[Middle English, bud, from Old French germe, from Latin germen; see genə- in Indo-European roots.] |
germ (jûrm)
n.
A small mass of protoplasm or cells from which a new organism or one of its parts may develop.
A microorganism, especially a pathogen.
| germ (jûrm) Pronunciation Key
A microscopic organism or agent, especially one that is pathogenic, such as a bacterium or virus. Our Living Language : The terms germ and microbe have been used to refer to invisible agents of disease since the nineteenth century, when scientists introduced the germ theory of disease, the idea that infections and contagious diseases are caused by microorganisms. Microbe, a shortening and alteration of microorganism, comes from the Greek prefix mikro-, "small," and the word bios, "life." Scientists no longer use the terms germ and microbe very much. Today they can usually identify the specific agents of disease, such as individual species of bacteria or viruses. To refer generally to agents of disease, they use the term pathogen, from the Greek pathos, "suffering," and the suffix -gen, "producer." They use microorganism to refer to any unicellular organism, whether disease-causing or not. |