germinal

¹

[jur-muh-nl]

adjective

1. being in the earliest stage of development.

   germinal ideas.

2. of or relating to a germ or germs.

3. of the nature of a germ or germ cell.

Germinal

²

[jur-muh-nl, zher-mee-nal]

noun

1. (in the French Revolutionary calendar) the seventh month of the year, extending from March 21 to April 19.

2. (italics),  a novel (1884) by Émile Zola.

germinal

¹

/ ˈdʒɜːmɪnəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like germs or a germ cell

2. of, or in the earliest stage of development; embryonic

Germinal

²

/ ʒɛrminal /

noun

1. the month of buds: the seventh month of the French revolutionary calendar, from March 22 to April 20

Other Word Forms

• germinally adverb
• nongerminal adjective
• subgerminal adjective
• subgerminally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of germinal¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from French or directly from Latin germin- (stem of germen “sprout, bud”; germ ) + -al ¹

Origin of germinal²

From French; germinal

Word History and Origins

Origin of germinal¹

C19: from New Latin germinālis, from Latin germen bud; see _germ

Example Sentences

It is being led by a Belfast-based plant breeding company, Germinal.

From BBC

She first considers the Repository for Germinal Choice, stocked with the sperm of Nobel laureates who have agreed to share anonymously their gifted DNA with the world.

From Washington Post

He had been reading Emile Zola’s great novel about the rural underclass, “Germinal,” and was under the spell of paintings of farm labor by his hero, Jean-Francois Millet.

From Washington Post

In 1971, Robert Graham founded the Repository of Germinal Choice, informally called the "Nobel Prize sperm bank".

From Salon

Their heretical names would be changed from the revolutionary names their dead parents had given them: Passionaria, Luxemburg, Prairial, Germinal, Danton, St Just.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• burgeoning 
• fledgling 
• growing 
• incipient 
• nascent 
• promising