English
germinate
Germinate comes from Latin germen ‘shoot, sprout, bud’, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁mn̥ ‘offspring”, “seed’, and ultimately from *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁mn̥‘offspring”, “seed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genamenreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgermen‘shoot, sprout, bud’
- Englishearliest quotation 1627germinate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁mn̥‘offspring”, “seed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*genamenreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgermen‘shoot, sprout, bud’
- Englishearliest quotation 1627germinate
Earliest quotation: 1627, (please specify the page, or |century=I to X): “the Chalcites, which hath a Spirit that will put…”
Formed from -ate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, general, king, engine, nature, nation, pregnant, generation, native, gender, ken, genetic, genius, gene, oxygen, genuine, gentle, genre, indigenous, hydrogen, genocide, noel, naive, genus, kin, genital, nee, ingenious, natal, nada, nascent, naïve, nativity, gentile, puny, innate, gens, glycogen, janata, genial, 114 more
through Latin germen ‘shoot, sprout, bud’
Today it means
verb Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / germinate