<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>a microorganism, especially when disease-producing; microbe</li><li>a bud, offshoot, or seed</li><li>the rudiment of a living organism; an embryo in its early stages</li><li>the initial stage in development or evolution, as a germ cell or ancestral form</li><li>something that serves as a source or initial stage for subsequent development: the germ of an idea</li></ul><p><strong>Adjective</strong></p><ul><li>of, relating to, or caused by disease-producing germs</li></ul>