Now, many of you, if you've had French anything, have read Germinal, and if you haven't read Germinal, now is your chance to read it.

现在,你们只要上过任何的法语课,都应该读过《萌芽》,如果你没读过《萌芽》,你现在有机会读了

耶鲁公开课 - 1871年后的法国课程节选

And germinal means "The budding," it's a reference to a calendar of the French Revolution.

erminal这个词的意思是发芽

耶鲁公开课 - 1871年后的法国课程节选