Relevant and appropriate to a particular matter; closely connected or related to the subject at hand. Describes information or comments that are pertinent and useful to the discussion.
From Latin 'germanus' meaning 'of the same parents, closely related,' derived from 'germen' (sprout, offspring). The word evolved from describing blood relations to describing ideas or facts that are closely related to a topic.
Think of germane ideas as 'German cousins' to your main topic - they're closely related family! Just like how German and Germanic languages share common roots, germane points share common ground with your main argument.
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