Make Your Point: GERMINAL

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pronounce GERMINAL:

JER muh null

connect this word to others:

The lovely little adjective germinal is closely related to one we checked out recently, germane: they both trace back to a Latin word for "bud or sprout." But germane means "closely related, as if budding or sprouting from the same source," while germinal means "newly budding, just starting to sprout."

Germinal also has its own verb, which we've checked out before: germinate ("to bud, to sprout"). I like the verb and the adjective so much that I've given them their own separate issues instead of lumping them together into one, like I did with these pairs:

1. despise & despicable

2. elude & elusive

3. imp__ & implicit

4. pertain & per____nt

5. st______e & stagnant

Could you supply each word with missing letters? Each pair is a verb and its corresponding adjective, like germinate & germinal.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The words "germ," "germinate," and "germinal" trace back to the Latin germen, meaning "a bud, a sprout, a little offshoot."

"Germinal" can mean "having to do with buds and sprouts, or having to do with springtime." And, it can mean "having to to do with embryos or other structures in the early stages of their development."

Today, outside of scientific contexts, something germinal is just beginning: just now starting to develop, and later on it'll become something important or influential.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "a germinal idea;" "The idea was still germinal."

Other forms:

The noun for the thing is "germ," as in "Back then, it was just the germ of an idea;" and the noun for the process is "germination," as in "The idea was in the early stages of germination."

The verb is "germinate," as in "The idea began to germinate." Its other forms are "germinated" and "germinating."

And the adverb is really rare, but if you need it, it's "germinally," as in "They carried this trait germinally."

how to use it:

"Germinal" is a semi-common, scientific-sounding word. Pick it when you want to strike a positive tone as you describe something full of newness and the promise of growth.

Typically, we talk about a germinal stage or form, a germinal idea or concept, or some germinal creation: one that's the first of its kind that leads to a blossoming of many others.

examples:

"In the germinal stages of a musical movement, it's hard to know whether a particular sound will live for a month, a year or a decade."
— Randall Roberts, LA Times, 1 June 2015

"[Post-WWII films such as 'And God Created Woman' and 'Belle de Jour'] proved germinal for a generation of filmmakers whose cinematic ideals were shaped during that era."
— Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 7 June 2019

has this page helped you understand "germinal"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "germinal" without saying "budding" or "promising."

try it out:

In an article about a particularly enthralling game of Brazilian football, Jonathan Liew wrote, "Has a goal ever felt quite so germinal, quite so invigorating, quite so startlingly emblematic of a corner being turned?"

Even if you're not a sports fan, you can get what he means about the goal seeming germinal: new, full of promise, signaling the beginning of some wonderful new thing.

With that in mind as an example, talk about a moment in your own life, or in a book or show that you enjoy, that felt germinal.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Confounding Contronyms!

In each issue, I'll give you two quotes, each with a blank. The same word goes in both blanks—but it means opposite things. Your job is to come up with that word: that slippery little contronym. To see the hints, highlight the hidden white text. To see the answer, scroll to the bottom.

Try this today:

Quote 1: "Pilaus were being sold, mounds of saffron rice on buttered plantain leaves, glistening with ghee and _____ed with red chillies and curling strips of fried onion."
— Kamala Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve, 1954

Quote 2: "When the pause on student loan payments ends, the government will again seek to _____ $90 of Ms. Rivera's $840 monthly disability check."
— Stacey Cowley, New York Times, 5 May 2022

Hint 1: This word starts with the letter... G

Hint 2: This word means both... "add" and "subtract."

review this word:

1. A near opposite of GERMINAL is

A. PROMISING.
B. ALIENATING.
C. WITHERING.

2. Based on what we know about the word "germinal," we can figure out that in the French revolutionary calendar, "Germinal" was a _____ month.

A. spring
B. fall
C. winter

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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How to motivate our kids to write.
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From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GERMINAL

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