# germinal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈdʒɜː(ɹ)mɪnəl/ · frequency rank #69,885

## Definitions
1. Relating to spring
2. Pertaining, similar, or belonging to a germ.
3. Relating to a plant ovary.
4. Serving as a point of origin; formative.
5. Highly influential; seminal.

## Etymology
From Middle French germe, from Latin germen (“bud, seed, embryo”). Doublet of germen. From earlier *genmen via dissimilation, from Proto-Italic *genamen, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥ (“offspring”, “seed”), from the root *ǵenh₁- (“to beget”, “to give birth”). Compare with genimen.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/germinal