[germ] n [F germe, fr. L germin-, germen, fr. gignere to beget--more at kin] (1644) 1 a: a small mass of living substance capable of developing into an organism or one of its parts b: the embryo with the scutellum of a cereal grain that is usu. separated from the starchy endosperm during milling
2: something that initiates development or serves as an origin: rudiments, beginning
3: microorganism; esp: a microorganism causing disease