Meaning

noun the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow

noun the origin of some development

originFrom oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”) + -ation, from Latin germinātiō, germinātiōnem (“sprouting, budding, growing”), from germinātus (“sprouted, budded, grown”), past participle of germinō (“to sprout, bud, grow”), from germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”). By surface analysis, germinate + -ion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0