germane

See also: Germane

English

WOTD – 15 April 2007

Etymology 1

Variant form of german, adapted in this sense in allusions to its use in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /dʒɜː(ɹ)ˈmeɪn/
  • Rhymes: -eɪn
  • (US) IPA(key): /dʒɝˈmeɪn/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Adjective

germane (comparative more germane, superlative most germane)

  1. Related to the topic being discussed or considered.
    Synonyms: pertinent, relevant, on-topic, apt
    • 2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. For Homer, it means forking over a hundred dollars for a dusty box of chocolates at the Kwik-E-Mart after characteristically forgetting the holiday yet again. For Ned, it’s another opportunity to prove his love for his wife. Most germane to the episode, for Lisa, Valentine’s Day means being the only person in her entire class to give Ralph a Valentine after noticing him looking crestfallen and alone at his desk.
    • 1924, Aristotle, Metaphysics. Translated by W. D. Ross. Nashotah, Wisconsin, USA: The Classical Library, 2001, Book 1, Part 5.
      Yet this much is germane to the present inquiry:
Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

germane (plural germanes)

  1. (inorganic chemistry) germanium tetrahydride, GeH4
  2. (organic chemistry, especially in combination) Any organic derivative of this compound.
Synonyms
Translations

Anagrams


Esperanto

Adverb

germane

  1. in the German language
  2. Germanly; in the manner of a German

Italian

Adjective

germane f pl

  1. Feminine plural of adjective germano.

Latin

Etymology

From germānus (real, sincere).

Pronunciation 1

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ɡerˈmaː.ne/, [ɡɛrˈmaː.nɛ]

Adjective

germāne

  1. masculine vocative singular of germānus

Pronunciation 2

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ɡerˈmaː.neː/, [ɡɛrˈmaː.neː]

Adverb

germānē (comparative germānius, superlative germānissimē)

  1. sincerely

References

  • germane in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • germane in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • germane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
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