worm

Meaning

Noun

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. A type of wingless "dragon", especially a gigantic sea serpent or any kind of dragon.
4. 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. A self-replicating malware that propagates through a network.
7. A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
8. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
9. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
10. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
11. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
12. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
13. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
14. (obsolete) Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake, snail, or caterpillar.
15. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse.
16. A strip of linked tiles sharing parallel edges in a tiling.
17. The lytta.
18. A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.

Verb

1. To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.
2. To move with one's body dragging the ground.
3. To work one's way by artful or devious means.
4. To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
5. To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means.
6. 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. To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
8. To deworm (an animal).
9. 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. To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.

Concepts

worm

earthworm

maggot

insect

caterpillar

snake

creep

larva

squirm

twist

wrestle

wriggle

crawl

grub

louse

bug

helminth

spiral

writhe

leech

elicit

beetle

slither

dirt ball

rain-worm

hookworm

intestinal worm

cancel

draw back

extract

glean

pull

renege on

reprint

retrieve

take back

withdraw

fidget

needle

parasite

burrow

chrysalis

weevil

bolt

pin

screw

vermi

vermi-

de-worm

computer worm

kind of insect

apple-grub

find out

ascarides

squeeze money out

tapeworm

enter into

slip into

supersede

vermin

endless screw

Vermes

vermis

bacteria

germ

riceworm

circumvolute

corkscrew

curl

wind

wreathe

curve

spin

volute

vortex

grovel

bootlick

dawdle

wiggler

sprog

parasitic

threadworm

sneak

larvae

stinker

spiral pinion

worm gear

worm screw

roundworm

deworm

dragon

serpent

earth worm

earthworms

lizard

proliferate

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɜːm/

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.
cognates
Germanic cognates include Dutch worm, West Frisian wjirm, German Wurm, Swedish orm (“snake”), Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“earthworm or snake”), Danish orm and Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem).
Indo-European cognates include Latin vermis (“worm”), Lithuanian var̃mas (“insect, midge”), Albanian rrime (“rainworm”), Ancient Greek ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm”).