The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Germinate \Ger"mi*nate\, v. t.
   To cause to sprout. --Price (1610).
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Germinate \Ger"mi*nate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Germinated; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Germinating.] [L. germinatus, p. p. of
   germinare to sprout, fr. germen. See Germ.]
   To sprout; to bud; to shoot; to begin to vegetate, as a plant
   or its seed; to begin to develop, as a germ. --Bacon.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

germinate
    v 1: produce buds, branches, or germinate; "the potatoes
         sprouted" [syn: shoot, spud, germinate, pullulate,
         bourgeon, burgeon forth, sprout]
    2: work out; "We have developed a new theory of evolution" [syn:
       evolve, germinate, develop]
    3: cause to grow or sprout; "the plentiful rain germinated my
       plants"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

48 Moby Thesaurus words for "germinate":
   blossom, brew, bud, burgeon, burst forth, develop, flourish,
   gather, gemmate, grow, grow rank, grow up, hypertrophy, increase,
   leaf, leaf out, leave, luxuriate, mature, mushroom, outgrow,
   overdevelop, overgrow, overrun, overtop, procreate, pullulate,
   put forth, put forth leaves, put out buds, reproduce, riot, root,
   shoot, shoot up, spring up, sprout, sprout up, strike root,
   take root, thrive, tower, upshoot, upspear, upspring, upsprout,
   vegetate, wax