germinate
/ˈd͡ʒɜː(ɹ)mɪneɪt/ verb
Forms germinates germinating germinated
- verb (intransitive, botany, horticulture) Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves.
- verb (transitive) To cause to grow; to produce.
Synonyms
ackerspyre shoot spud pullulate bourgeon burgeon forth sprout evolve develop
Etymology
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”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To sprout; to bud; to shoot; to begin to vegetate, as a plant or its seed; to begin to develop, as a germ. Bacon.
- verb To cause to sprout. Price (1610).
Etymology [L. germinatus, p. p. of germinare to sprout, fr. germen. See Germ.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “germinate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details