germinate
UK[ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪt]US[ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪt]
v
to begin to grow or develop; to sprout, as from a seed or spore.
v
to cause something to begin to grow or develop; to bring into existence.
Morpheme Breakdown
germin
ate
germin
seed, sprout
ate
verb suffix
Etymology
the word germinate has its roots in the latin verb 'germinare', meaning "to sprout, bud, or put forth shoots." this verb itself is derived from 'germen', the latin noun for "sprout, bud, germ, or offshoot," which can be traced back to the proto-indo-european root 'gen-/gene-', meaning "to give birth, beget." the semantic journey is direct and logical: from the ancient concept of birth and generation, it narrowed in latin to specifically denote the initial sprouting of a plant. entering english in the early 17th century, the verb 'germinate' retained this core botanical meaning of a seed beginning to grow, and later extended metaphorically to describe the beginning or development of any idea, plan, or movement.
Analysis
Structure: germin (seed, sprout) + ate (verb suffix)
germin is derived from latin 'germin-', the stem of 'germen', meaning "sprout, bud, germ." ate is a verb-forming suffix from latin '-atus', indicating an action or process.
Examples
the seeds will germinate more quickly in warm, moist soil.
after weeks of cold stratification, the apple seeds finally began to germinate.
the idea for the new business began to germinate during their travels.