worm

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English worm, werm, wurm, wirm, from Old English wyrm ‘snake, worm’, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, 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.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

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 widely 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

[edit] Translations

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

[edit] Verb

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. (transitive, figuratively) To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
    He wormed his way into the organization
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To obtain information from someone through artful or devious means (usually used with out of)
    • 1913, Marie Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger
      I've got a awk'ard job - to try and worm something out of the barmaid.
  4. (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.
  5. (transitive) To deworm an animal.
  6. (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 [...]
  7. (intransitive, figuratively) To work one's way by artful or devious means.

[edit] Translations

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

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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

[edit] Dutch

[edit] Alternative forms

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology

From Old Dutch *wurm, *worm, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz.

[edit] Noun

worm m. (plural wormen, diminutive wormpje)

  1. worm

[edit] See also

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=worm&oldid=16168677"
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