FREE a.
separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells. Free agency, the capacity or power of choosing or acting freely, or without necessity or constraint upon the will. -- Free bench (Eng. Law), a widow's right in the copyhold lands of her husband, corresponding to dower in f…
GERM n.
been demonstrated to be the cause of certain diseases. See Germ theory (bellow). -- Germ cell (Biol.), the germ, egg, spore, or cell from which the plant or animal arises. At one time a part of the body of the parent, it finally becomes detached,and by a process of multiplication and growth gives rise to a mass of cel…
GERMINAL a.
belonging to a germ; as, the germinal vesicle. Germinal layers (Biol.), the two layers of cells, the ectoblast and entoblast, which form respectively the outer covering and inner wall of the gastrula. A third layer of cells, the mesoblast, which is formed later and lies between these two, is sometimes included. -- Ger…