worm

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English worm, werm, wurm, wirm, from Old English wyrm ‘snake, worm’, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz (compare Dutch worm, West Frisian wjirm, German Wurm, Danish orm), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis (compare Latin vermis '‘worm’, Lithuanian var̃mas ‘insect, midge’, Albanian rrime ‘rainworm’, Ancient Greek ῥόμος (rhómos) ‘woodworm’), possibly from *wer- ‘to turn’. First computer usage by John Brunner in his 1975 book The Shockwave Rider.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

An earthworm

worm (plural worms)

  1. A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum.
  2. A contemptible or devious being.
    Don't try to run away, you little worm!
  3. (computing) A self-replicating program that propagates through a network.
  4. (cricket) A graphical representation of the total runs scored in an innings.
  5. Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
  6. (archaic) A dragon or mythological serpent.
  7. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse.
    The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! — Richard III, William Shakespeare

Translations [edit]

animal
contemptible being
self-replicating program
cricket term
something helical, especially the thread of a screw
dragon or mythological serpent
internal tormentor

Verb [edit]

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.
    We wormed our way through the underbrush.
  2. (intransitive, figuratively) To work one's way by artful or devious means.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
    He wormed his way into the organization
  4. To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means; often followed by out.
    • Jonathan Swift
      They find themselves wormed out of all power.
  5. (transitive, figuratively) To obtain information from someone through artful or devious means (usually used with out of)
    • Dickens
      They […] wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell.
    • 1913, Marie Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger
      I've got a awk'ard job - to try and worm something out of the barmaid.
  6. (transitive, nautical) To fill in the contlines of a rope before parcelling and serving.
    Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
    • Totten
      Ropes […] are generally wormed before they are served.
  7. (transitive) To deworm an animal.
  8. (intransitive) To move with one's body dragging the ground.
    • 1919, William Joseph Long, How animals talk: and other pleasant studies of birds and beast‎
      Inch by inch I wormed along the secret passageway, flat to the ground, not once raising my head, hardly daring to pull a full breath [...]
  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.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      The men assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies.
  10. (transitive) To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.

Translations [edit]

to make one's way with a crawling motion
to get (into) gradually or slowly
to obtain information through artful or devious means
(nautical) to fill in the contlines of a rope before parcelling and serving
to cure of intestinal worms
to move with one's body dragging the ground
to work one's way by artful or devious means

Derived terms [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

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

Dutch [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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 [edit]

worm m (plural wormen, diminutive wormpje)

  1. worm

See also [edit]

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