Germline

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Those cells of an individual that have genetic material that could be passed to offspring; the source of gametes.

    "Germline gene therapy is a controversial, complex topic; only through many open discussions of this topic by a broad spectrum of our society will we gain the wisdom needed for proper evaluation of the factors that must be considered before we complete initiation of these protocols."

Example

More examples

"Germline gene therapy is a controversial, complex topic; only through many open discussions of this topic by a broad spectrum of our society will we gain the wisdom needed for proper evaluation of the factors that must be considered before we complete initiation of these protocols."

Etymology

From germ + line.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.