worm (werm)

[ OS. wurm = D. LG. worm = OHG. MHG. G. wurm, worm, insect, snake, dragon, = Icel. ormr (for* vormr ) = Sw. Dan.orm (for * vorm ) = Goth. waurms, a worm, = L. vermis; cf. Gr. ῤῥόμος, ῥόμοξ (* Ερόμος), a wood-worm; cf. Lith. kirmis, worm, OBulg. chrŭví = Ru . chervů, worm, = OIr. cruim, a worm (cf. Ir. cruimh, a maggot, W. pryf, worm), = Skt. krimi, worm (whence ult. E. crimson, carmine, q.v.). From the L. ver mis are ult. E. vermin, vermicule, vermeil, etc.] 1. In popular language, any small creeping creature whose body consists of a number of movable joints or rings, and whose limbs are very short or entirely wanting; any vermiform animal. Nowe pike oute mougthes, attercop pes, wormys , And but terf lie whoos thoste engendryng worme is. Palladius , Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 138. (a) Any annelid, as the earthworm, lobworm or lugworm, leech, etc. See the distinctive names. Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than most persons would at first suppose. In almost all humid countries they are extraordinarily numerous, and for their size po e great muscular power. Darwin, Vegetable Mould, p. 305. (b) Any helminth, whether parasitic or not, as a flatworm, brain-worm, fluke-worm, roundworm, tapeworm, pinworm, hairworm, threadworm, spoonworm, longworm, whirl-worm, guinea-worm, etc. See such words, and vine gar- eel. (c) One of several long slender vermiform echino derms, as some holothurians and related forms. See Vermiform i a, and cuts under Synapta and trepang. (d) Some small or slender acarine or mite, or its larva, as the worm found in sebaceous follicles. See comedo and Demodex. (e) A myriapod; a centiped or milleped; a gally-worm. (f) The larva, grub, maggot, or caterpillar of many true hexapod insects: as, bag- worm; boll- worm; book- worm; wireworm; sod- worm; snake- worm; joint-worm; silkworms. See the compounded and otherwise qualified names. The larvæ of the bee-moth are frequently but improperly so called. Indeed when worms are spoken of by the ordinary beekeeper, the larvæ of the bee-moth are almost always meant. Phin , Dict. Apiculture, p. 78. (g) The adult of some true insects whose body is long and flexible, as a glow-worm. (h) One of several long slender crustaceans with short legs or none, which attach to or burrow in other animals, bore into wood, etc., as some kinds of fish-lice, certain isopods (as the gribble), certain amphipods (as the wood-shrimp), etc. (1) One of some ver- miform mollusks, as a teredo or shipworm, or a worm- shell. See cuts under shipworm and Vermetus. (A small lizard with rudimentary legs, or none, as a blind- worm or slow-worm. (kt) A serpent; a snake; a dragon. For a modern instance in composition, see worm - snake , 1. He [Satan] Wente in to a wirme , and tolde eue a tale. Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S.), 1. 321. Hast thou the pretty worm of Nilus there, That kills and pains not? Shak., A. and C., v. 2. 243. Here will be subject for my snakes and me. Cling to my neck and wrists, my loving worms . B. Jonson, Poetaster, Ind. worm 2. Technically, in zoöl., any member of the Linnean cla Ve Vermes, or of the modern phylum or subkingdom of the same name; any turbellarian, planarian, nemertean, platyhelminth, nemathelminth, nemathelminth, tren trematoid, cestoid, nematoid, chætognath, gephyrean, annelid, etc. By some authorities the rotifers and polyzoans are brought under this head. See Vermes, and the various words noted in 1 (a), ( b ), above. 3. A person or human being likened to a worm as an object of scorn, disgust, contempt, pity, and the like: as, man is but a worm of the dust. Vile worm , thou wast o'erlooked even in thy birth. Shak., M. W. of W., v. 5. 87. Hence-4. Figuratively, of inanimate objects, something that slowly, silently, or stealthily eats, makes, or works its way, to the pain, injury, or destruction of the object affected: used emblematically or symbolically. (a) Corruption, decay, or di olution; death itself. Thus chides she Death "Grim-grinning ghost, earth's worm , what dost thou mean, To stifle beauty and to steal his breath?" Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 933. IMG:content-2569.png:[blocks in formation] 6. Anything thought to resemble a worm in appearance, or in having a spiral or curved movement. (a) The spiral part of a corkscrew or of a woodscrew. Also wormer. (b) A rod having at the end a double spiral as if two corkscrews were combined, used in withdrawing the cartridge or wad from the barrel of a gun. Also wormer. Compare wadhook. (c) The spiral pipe in a still, through which the vapor to be condensed is conducted. See distillation, 2, and cut under petroleum - still. (d) A spiral tool with a sharp point, used to bore soft rock. E. H. Knight. 7. pl. Any disease or disorder arising from the presence of parasitic worms in the intestines or other ti ues; helminthiasis. - Clover-hay worm. See clover. -Cystic worm. See cystic1.- Double the genus Diplozoon. See cut under syzygy. - Gotthard worm, Dochmius intestinal is: so called because of the large number of cases of anemia among the workers on the St. Gotthard tunnel, caused by the presence of this parasite. 6980 worm-oil II. trans. 1. To effect by slow, stealthy, or insidious means: as, to worm one's way along. fall, woode worm eaten, cloath deuoured with moathes, In this sen sense also, reflexively, of slow, insidious, or insinuating progre or action: as, he wormed himself into fa IMG:content-2570.png:[blocks in formation] 4. To free from worms. Wormes in the earth also there are, but too many, so that, to keepe them from destroying their Corne and Tobacco they are forced to worme them eury morning, which is a great labour, else all would be destroyed. Capt. John Smith , Works, II. 116. Another strange gardener. challenges as his right the binding or unbinding of every flower, the clipping of every bush, the weeding and worming of every bed, both in that and all other gardens thereabout. Milton , On Def. of Humb. Remonst., vi. 5. To remove the charge, etc., from, as a gun, by means of a worm. See worm , n ., 6 (b).-6. To remove the worm or lytta from the tongue of, as of a dog: supposed to be a precaution against madne . Is she grown mad now? IMG:content-2571.png:[blocks in formation] 7. To remove the beard of (an oyster or mu el).-8t. To give a spiral form to; put a thread on. Grow'n more cunning, hollow things he for meth, He hatcheth Files, and winding Vices wormeth, He shapeth Sheers, and then a Saw indents, Then beats a Blade, and then a Lock invents. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, The Handy-Crafts. We see the corne blasted, trees stricken downe, floures cattell doe ende, and menne doe die. Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 192 Concave as a covered goblet or a worm - eaten nut. Shak ., As you Like it, iii. 4. 27. 2. Old, worn-out, or worthle , as if eaten by worms. Raleigh, Hist. World (ed. 1687), p. 58. worm-eatenne (wėrm'ē"tn-nes), n. The state of being worm-eaten, or as if worm-eaten; decay; rot.