Twice this week at a nursing regulatory conference I have heard a speaker use the word "germanic." I should have jotted down the context, but instead I decided I'd look the word up when I got back to my room. Of course I was familiar with the meaning related to "German," but I thought there was a more general meaning. I couldn't find a thing, either in dictionary.com or the OED. The speakers were not talking about Germany for sure. Any idea what another meaning of "germanic" might be?
August 04, 2011, 22:32
arnie
It can mean "of or containing germanium, especially in the tetravalent state"; see Dictionary.com.
Without the context it's not really possible to tell, but could it have been germane you heard?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
August 05, 2011, 05:11
Geoff
Maybe they think it's a synonym for pathogenic? That is, related to germs?This message has been edited. Last edited by: Geoff,
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
August 05, 2011, 20:47
Kalleh
quote:
Without the context it's not really possible to tell, but could it have been germane you heard?
I know, arnie, so this probably was a probably a useless thread. I should have written down the contexts. The first time I just thought I'd heard it wrong. But when it happened again, I wondered.
I am certain the word was germanic, and not germane. There was no discussion of tetravalent states. Oh well.