germ

germ · noun, verb¹

1. Latin · derived fromgermen“bud, seed, embryo”
2. Middle French · borrowed fromgerme
3. English todaygerm

From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen.

Germ · noun²

Clipping of German, from the phonetic similarity to germ.

Words from the same roots