An initial stage or state from which something may develop; a source, a beginning. Also: a small constituent or quantity. Now usually with of…

Figurative uses developed from sense A. 2. The original from which something is derived. Obsolete.

A seed or germ of something. Obsolete. rare.

The very beginning, the earliest stage; a starting point, an introduction; (also) a source or origin.

figurative. An initial stage or state from which something may develop; a source, a beginning; = germ, n. 1.

Linguistics. A word form consisting of an unmodified root (root, n.1 16a), esp. an uninflected verb form.

figurative. A primary form or source from which offshoots have arisen.