OXFORD 9000
📚 noun • entry_id 9379

germ

/d͡ʒɜːm/
Meanings (ES + gloss)
germen
The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud, spore, or zygote.
germen
A pathogen: a pathogenic microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus.
'This again,' said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope, 'is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera - the cholera germ.'
Word forms