1. A microorganism, especially one causing disease
   "The hospital took measures to prevent the spread of harmful germs";
   - microbe, bug [informal]
    
2. Anything that provides inspiration for later work
   "The childhood memory became the germ for her bestselling novel";
   - source, seed
    
3. A small apparently simple structure (as a fertilized egg) from which new tissue can develop into a complete organism
   "The germ of the wheat seed contains the embryo plant"
    
4. (mathematics) an equivalence class of functions that are the same in a neighbourhood around a given point
   "The concept of germs is crucial in studying local properties of functions"

Derived forms: germs

Type of: anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, inspiration, microorganism, structure

Encyclopedia: Germ, Hautes-Pyrénées