[attrib.]relating to or of the nature of a germ cell or embryo 与生殖细胞(或胚胎)有关的;具生殖细胞(或胚胎)性质的 ■in the earliest stage of development 萌芽阶段的,处于初级状态的 ■providing material for future development 孕育新思想的,开创性的 the subject was revived in a germinal article by Charles Ferguson. 这一论题在查尔斯•弗格森的一篇开创性文章中被重新提及。
派生 germinally adverb 语源
early 19th cent.: from Latin germen, germin- 'sprout, seed' + -al