Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Germinal” come from?

Germinal comes from French germinal, derived from Latin germen meaning "bud" or "sprout," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- meaning "to beget" or "to produce."

Ancestry of “Germinal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ál—
2EnglishaldehydeAny of a large class of reactive organic...
3GermanAldehydaldehyde
4Latinalcoholkohl, collyrium, stibium; any other powder...
5Andalusian Arabicكُحُول—
6Arabicكحلantimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the...
7Arabicكُحْلantimony; kohl, stibnite
8Akkadianguḫlum—
Every word from Akkadian guḫlum →