germen

American  

[jur-muhn] / ˈdʒɜr mən /

noun

Archaic.

plural

germens, germina

1. a germ.

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germen British  

/ ˈdʒɜːmən /

noun

1. rare biology the mass of undifferentiated cells that gives rise to the germ cells

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Etymology

Origin of germen

From Latin, dating back to 1595–1605; see origin at germ

Example Sentences

It is here manifestly impossible to select the more sterile individuals, which have already ceased to yield seeds; so that the acme of sterility, when the germen alone is affected, cannot be gained through selection.

From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. I by Darwin, Charles

But the stamens, being shorter than the germen, cannot discharge the pollen so as to throw it upon the stigma, as the flower stands always upright till after impregnation.

From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Poe, Edgar Allan

The younger the fruit of the carica, the more milk it yields: it is even found in the germen scarcely fecundated.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 2 by Humboldt, Alexander von

The pistil is generally divisible into the ovary or germen, the style and the stigma.

From The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition by Darwin, Charles

Thus every botanist considers petals, nectaries, stamens, pistils, germen as metamorphosed leaf.

From The Foundations of the Origin of Species Two Essays written in 1842 and 1844 by Darwin, Francis, Sir