Meaning

• The small mass of cells from which a new organism develops; a seed, bud or spore.

• A pathogenic microorganism.

• The embryo of a seed, especially of a seed used as a cereal or grain. See Wikipedia article on cereal germ.

• The origin of an idea or project.

  "the germ of civil liberty"

• An equivalence class that includes a specified function defined in an open neighborhood.

Meaning

• To germinate.

• To grow, as if parasitic.