The germ of something such as an idea is something which developed or might develop into that thing. The germ of an idea took root in Rosemary's mind see also wheatgerm. germ warfare germ theory germ plasm theory
That which is to develop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears
a small simple structure (as a fertilized egg) from which new tissue can develop into a complete organism
A little used term used to identify a virus authors' original copy of a virus Patterns in code, and amount of functionality, help antivirus experts to determine if a virus is a "germ " This is also called "Garden of Eden Mechanism" or "Generation One Virus "