germinate
/ˈd͡ʒɜː(ɹ)mɪneɪt/verb
germinate is spelled G-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, germinate means “Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in germinate?
| Letters | 9: G-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is germinate?
Germinate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce germinate?
- /ˈd͡ʒɜː(ɹ)mɪneɪt/
Germinate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-germinate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of germinate
- germinates present, singular, he/she/it
- germinating participle, present
- germinated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does germinate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves.
- 2
To cause to grow; to produce.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Germinate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sprout or produce buds:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does germinate come from?
From oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”) + -ate, from germinātus (“sprouted, budded, grown”), past participle of germinō (“to sprout, bud, grow”), from germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).