worm

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 within3archaic : snake , serpent4: helminthiasis —usually used in plural5: 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

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