Webster's English Dictionary

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germ

germ \'j*rm\ n [F germe, fr. L germin-, germen, fr. gignere to beget -] 
   often attribm more at KIN 1: a small mass of living substance capable of 
   developing into an organism  or one of its parts 2: something that serves 
   or may serve as an origin : RUDIMENT  3: MICROORGANISM; esp : a 
   microorganism causing disease