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

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

The globular part contains the pistil, which consists merely of a germen and stigma, together with the surrounding stamens.

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

Mr. Fairbairn, to whose abilities and industry the Companies Garden at Chelsea is indebted for its present flourishing state, being desirous of obtaining ripe seeds, I had no opportunity of examining the germen.

From The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 4 Or, Flower-Garden Displayed by Curtis, William

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

The germen becomes a round woody capsule, compressed at the ends like an orange, divided into twelve cells, each containing a flat oblong seed.

From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous