Germy

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by a significant quantity of harmful microbes and bacteria that can lead to illness or unsanitary conditions
2. Exhibiting a high concentration of pathogenic organisms, suggesting a potential for disease and contamination
3. Containing or covered with microorganisms that can cause infection or disease

Etymology: "Germy" is about as transparent as English formations get: it is simply "germ" with the adjective-forming suffix "-y" added, giving the sense "full of germs" or "germ-laden." The suffix is an old and productive one in English, the same ending found in words like "dirty," "sandy," and "hairy," so the formation needed no special coinage or borrowing. The more interesting story lies in the base word. "Germ" came into English from Latin "germen," meaning a bud, sprout, or seed, and its sense of a microscopic disease-causing organism is a later extension. The biological sense developed as scientists came to understand that infection was caused by living microbes, so "germ" shifted from the idea of a seed of life to a carrier of illness. "Germy" then took on that medical sense, describing surfaces, hands, or places where such microbes are thought to gather.

Synonyms: contaminated, infected

Antonyms: clean, sterile