germane en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
A variant form of german (“having the same parents; related”), adapted in this sense in allusions to its use in Shakespeare's Hamlet (see quotations at germaine).
Meanings
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Related to a topic of discussion or consideration.
1924, W. D. Ross., translator, Aristotle, Metaphysics. Nashotah, Wisconsin, USA: The Classical Library, 2001, Book 1, Part 5. Yet this much is germane to the present inquiry:
Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. [...] Most germane to the episode, for Lisa, Valentine’s Day means being the only person in her entire class to give Ralph a Valentine after noticing him looking crestfallen and alone at his desk.
2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):Connors was addicted to this racquet and kept using it even after Wilson stopped making it, forfeiting millions in potential endorsement money by doing so. Connors was eccentric (and kind of repulsive) in lots of other ways, too, none of which are germane to this article.
1997, David Foster Wallace, “Tennis Player Michael Joyce’s Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff About Choice, Freedom, Limitation, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group:Partway through our call, Horowitz excuses himself to answer the door for a package. The parcel that arrives is, in fact, germane to our conversation: a copy of Stay Alive: Berlin 1939-1945 by Ian Baruma.
2026 June 21, Annabel Nugent, “The authors who admit to using AI: ‘I have absolutely no shame about it’”, in The Independent:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more germane | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| germaine | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| germain | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| most germane | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
nongermane · germyl · tetraorganogermane · germanely · germaneness · ungermane
Synonyms
applicable · salient · apt · ad rem · on point · relevant · on-topic · apposite · on-topic · valid · in point · to the point · pertinent · relevant · material · apt · pertinent · well-placed · germane · felicitous
Translations (47)
cmn 有關係 /有关系 (related to the topic being discussed) · pl istotny (related to the topic being discussed) · pt pertinente (related to the topic being discussed) · da relevante (related to the topic being discussed) · sh pòvēzān (related to the topic being discussed) · da relevant (related to the topic being discussed) · ka რელევანტური (related to the topic being discussed) · sh по̀ве̄за̄н (related to the topic being discussed) · ru уме́стный (related to the topic being discussed) · fr pertinent (related to the topic being discussed) · cs významný (related to the topic being discussed) · nl ter zake (related to the topic being discussed) · cs k věci (related to the topic being discussed) · de relevant (related to the topic being discussed) · et sobiv (related to the topic being discussed) · bg уместен (related to the topic being discussed) · sh релева̀нтан (related to the topic being discussed) · nl van toepassing (related to the topic being discussed) · hi संबंधित (related to the topic being discussed) · cs podstatný (related to the topic being discussed) · cmn 有關 /有关 (related to the topic being discussed) · cs relevantní (related to the topic being discussed) · et kohane (related to the topic being discussed) · es relacionado (related to the topic being discussed) · fi olennainen (related to the topic being discussed) · ka შესაბამისი (related to the topic being discussed) · ru релева́нтный (related to the topic being discussed) · ca pertinent (related to the topic being discussed) · pt relevante (related to the topic being discussed) · sk súvisiaci (related to the topic being discussed) · sh srȍdan (related to the topic being discussed) · ka შესაფერისი (related to the topic being discussed) · nl relevant (related to the topic being discussed) · sh сро̏дан (related to the topic being discussed) · ka სათანადო (related to the topic being discussed) · fi asiaankuuluva (related to the topic being discussed) · ru подходя́щий (related to the topic being discussed) · sk relevantný (related to the topic being discussed) · ru относя́щийся к те́ме (related to the topic being discussed) · fa مربوط (related to the topic being discussed) · pl relewantny (related to the topic being discussed) · ru соотве́тствующий (related to the topic being discussed) · cs závažný (related to the topic being discussed) · sh relevàntan (related to the topic being discussed) · hi उपयुक्त (related to the topic being discussed) · fi relevantti (related to the topic being discussed) · ga ábhartha (related to the topic being discussed)