worm

English Online Dictionary. What means worm‎? What does worm mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English worm, werm, wurm, wirm, from Old English wyrm (“worm, snake”), from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis, possibly from *wer- (“to turn”). Doublet of vermin and wyrm, the latter of which is a fairly recent borrowing directly from the Old English.

(computing): First computer usage by John Brunner in his 1975 book The Shockwave Rider.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɜːm/
• (US) enPR: wûrm, IPA^(key): /wɝm/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)m

Noun

worm (plural worms)

1. A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm.
2. More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms.
3. (archaic) A type of wingless "dragon", especially a gigantic sea serpent or any kind of dragon.
4. (fantasy, science fiction) Either a mythical "dragon" (especially wingless), a gigantic sea serpent, or a creature that resembles a Mongolian death worm.
5. A contemptible or devious being.
6. (computing) A self-replicating malware that propagates through a network.

7. (cricket) A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
8. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
   1. A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
   2. The spiral wire of a corkscrew.
   3. (anatomy) A muscular band in the tongue of some animals, such as dogs; the lytta.
   4. The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to save space.
   5. A short revolving screw whose threads drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel or rack by gearing into its teeth.
9. (archaic or poetic) Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake, snail, or caterpillar.
   • 1561, Geneva Bible, Acts 28:3-4,^[1]

     And when Paul had gathered a nomber of stickes, & laid them on the fyre, there came a viper out of the heat, and leapt on his hand. Now when the Barbarians sawe the worme hang on his hand, they said among them selues This man surely is a murtherer, whome, thogh he hathe escaped the sea, yet Vengeance hathe not suffred to liue.
10. (informal or poetic) A maggot.

11. (figuratively) An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse.
12. (mathematics) A strip of linked tiles sharing parallel edges in a tiling.
13. (anatomy) The lytta.
14. (preceded by definite article) A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.

Usage notes

• It is common to use the plural form worms to refer to intestinal or other internal parasites.
• Although the use of the "worm" to mean "dragon" or "serpent" is archaic, those meanings are in current use in the word "wyrm" which is a doublet of "worm". Wyrm is a fairly recent borrowing directly from the Old English.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Verb

worm (third-person singular simple present worms, present participle worming, simple past and past participle wormed)

1. (transitive) To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.

2. (intransitive) To move with one's body dragging the ground.
3. (intransitive, figuratively) To work one's way by artful or devious means.
4. (transitive, figuratively) To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
5. (often followed by out) To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means.
6. (transitive, figuratively, in “worm out of”) To drag out of, to get information that someone is reluctant or unwilling to give (through artful or devious means or by pleading or asking repeatedly).
7. (transitive, nautical) To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
8. (transitive) To deworm (an animal).
9. (transitive) To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of (a dog, etc.) for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw, and formerly supposed to guard against canine madness.
10. (transitive) To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.

Translations

See also

References

• [5] The Free Dictionary, Farlex Inc., 2010.

Anagrams

• mrow

Cornish

Adjective

worm

1. Soft mutation of gorm.

Dutch

Alternative forms

• wurm

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɔrm/
• Hyphenation: worm
• Rhymes: -ɔrm

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch worm, from Old Dutch *wurm, *worm, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis. Compare English worm, West Frisian wjirm, German Wurm, Danish orm.

Noun

worm m (plural wormen, diminutive wormpje n)

1. worm, vernacular term for various, mostly legless invertebrates; often nematodes or legless arthropod larvae.

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: wurm
• Berbice Creole Dutch: worum
• Negerhollands: worm, wurum

See also

• pier

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

worm

1. inflection of wormen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Middle English

Alternative forms

• werm, wirm, wurm, wyrm, wyrme, wrim, worme

Etymology

From Old English wyrm, from Proto-West Germanic *wurmi, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwurm/, /ˈwɛrm/, /ˈwirm/

Noun

worm (plural wormes or wormen)

1. A worm or similar small wormlike animal that lives in the ground; especially in the following special senses:
   1. A wormish insect that damages plants or plant-based material (e.g. a termite).
   2. A wormish insect that damages human remains.
   3. A parasitic worm; especially one living in the stomach.
2. A crawling animal; an animal that moves upon the ground.
3. An animal regarded as harmful and annoying.
4. A snake or snake-like monster.
5. A dragon, drake, or wyrm (mythological fire-breathing winged lizard)
6. A beast that inhabits Hell; causing suffering to its inhabitants.
7. A pauper, miser, or other contemptuous individual.
8. regret, forgiveness; the twanging of the heartstrings.
9. evil, malice; that which promotes maliciousness.
10. (biblical) The snake of Eden.
11. (Christianity, rare) Satan, the Devil.
12. (veterinary, rare) A muscle underneath the tongue of a dog seen as increasing the risk of rabies.

Related terms

• glouworm
• wormwode

Descendants

• English: worm
• Scots: worm, wirm

References

• “wǒrm, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-02.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English worm.

Pronunciation

Noun

worm m (plural worms)

1. (computer security) worm (self-replicating program)