a microorganism, esp. when disease-producing; microbe.

a bud, offshoot, or seed.

the rudiment of a living organism; an embryo in its early stages.

the initial stage in development or evolution, as a germ cell or ancestral form.

something that serves as a source or initial stage for subsequent development

the germ of an idea.

Pathology . of, pertaining to, or caused by disease-producing germs.

noun

antibody , bacterium , bug * , disease , microbe , microorganism , parasite , pathogen , plague , virus , what’s going around , bud , cause , egg , embryo , inception , nucleus , origin , ovule , ovum , root , rudiment , seed , source , spark , spore , sprig , sprout , bug , kernel , beginning , first principle , organism