Main Entry: ¹worm

Pronunciation: \ˈwərm\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wyrm serpent, worm; akin to Old High German wurm serpent, worm, Latin vermis worm

Date: before 12th century

1 a : earthworm; broadly : an annelid worm b : any of numerous relatively small elongated usually naked and soft-bodied animals (as a grub, pinworm, tapeworm, shipworm, or slowworm)
2 a : a human being who is an object of contempt, loathing, or pity : wretch b : something that torments or devours from within
3 archaic : snake, serpent
4 : helminthiasis —usually used in plural
5 : something (as a mechanical device) spiral or vermiculate in form or appearance: as a : the thread of a screw b : a short revolving screw whose threads gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or a rack c : archimedes' screw; also : a conveyor working on the principle of such a screw
6 : a usually small self-contained and self-replicating computer program that invades computers on a network and usually performs a destructive action

— worm·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective