germane

adjective

ger·​mane (ˌ)jər-ˈmān How to pronounce germane (audio)
1
: being at once relevant and appropriate : fitting
omit details that are not germane to the discussion
2
obsolete : closely akin
germanely adverb

Did you know?

“Wert thou a Leopard, thou wert Germane to the Lion.” So wrote William Shakespeare in his five-act tragedy Timon of Athens, using an old (and now-obsolete) sense of germane meaning “closely akin.” Germane comes to us from the Middle English word germain, meaning “having the same parents.” (An early noun sense of germane also referred specifically to children of the same parents.) Today, something said to be germane is figuratively “related” in that it is relevant or fitting to something else, as when music critic Amanda Petrusich wrote of an album by the Chicks: “‘Gaslighter’ is brasher and more pop-oriented than anything the band has done before. Part of this shift feels germane to our era—the idea of genre, as it applies to contemporary music, is growing less and less relevant—but it also feels like a final repudiation of country music, and of a community that mostly failed to support or to understand one of its biggest acts.”

Choose the Right Synonym for germane

relevant, germane, material, pertinent, apposite, applicable, apropos mean relating to or bearing upon the matter in hand.

relevant implies a traceable, significant, logical connection.

found material relevant to her case

germane may additionally imply a fitness for or appropriateness to the situation or occasion.

a point not germane to the discussion

material implies so close a relationship that it cannot be dispensed with without serious alteration of the case.

facts material to the investigation

pertinent stresses a clear and decisive relevance.

a pertinent observation

apposite suggests a felicitous relevance.

add an apposite quotation to the definition

applicable suggests the fitness of bringing a general rule or principle to bear upon a particular case.

the rule is not applicable in this case

apropos suggests being both relevant and opportune.

the quip was apropos

Examples of germane in a Sentence

The press material for this film contains some notes made by the Dardenne brothers during the shooting. Such material is usually disposable, but these notes are germane.. Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 3 Feb. 2003
Bork and his supporters argued that his "academic" writings and his speeches were not germane to whether he should be confirmed. Elizabeth Drew, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 1987
From time to time, engineers and scientists hold conferences … where they trot out ideas they have developed, frequently ideas germane to solving practical problems. Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, (1984) 1985
facts germane to the dispute my personal opinion isn't germane to our discussion of the facts of the case
Recent Examples on the Web Many events are hosted by germane media publishers or industry associations including The Channel Company, Channel Partners, CompTIA and TMCNet. Rom Hendler, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Manufacturer Stores The first set of merchants arguably most germane to PCMag readers are the makers of computers and technology that sell directly to customers, both online and off--but most sell online exclusively. Eric Griffith, PCMAG, 26 July 2023 Her thesis is that Hancock was a political moderate who shaped the American Founding by balancing radicalism with restraint — a notion germane to our own age of extreme polarization. Guy Denton, National Review, 20 Jan. 2024 What’s germane here is that companies participating in the video and news partner programs pay only a 15% fee (whereas any other subscription provider that generates at least $1 million in revenue annually must pay a 30% commission in the first year before dropping down to 15%). Todd Spangler, Variety, 18 Jan. 2024 By her lights, then, in our world, there are only two kinds of germane actors: potentially corrupt presidents and pillar-of-rectitude prosecutors who scrupulously enforce the law free of partisanship or prejudice. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 9 Dec. 2023 That’s because these questions are more germane than candidate support in an election so far off. G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2023 While season 1 tackled several hot topics, season 2 goes even further, examining a range of subjects germane to Indian society and beyond. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Aug. 2023 Characters who make the mistake of thinking that heroism depends on pragmatism and political intelligence—in The Scottish Chiefs, the unlikable Lady Mar raises such germane questions as the distribution of power and the viability of resistance—are shut down. Clare Bucknell, The New York Review of Books, 21 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'germane.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English germain, literally, having the same parents, from Anglo-French

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of germane was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near germane

Cite this Entry

“Germane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/germane. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

germane

adjective
ger·​mane (ˌ)jər-ˈmān How to pronounce germane (audio)
: both relevant and appropriate
a germane comment
germanely adverb

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