Tatzelwurm

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Tatzelwurm.

Noun

Tatzelwurm (plural Tatzelwurms)

1. (cryptozoology) A worm-like cryptid reported to live in the Alps.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 736:

     Men had been known to quit work here, claiming that the Tatzelwurms were becoming enraged by all the drilling and explosions.

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German

Etymology

From Tatze (“paw, claw”) +‎ Wurm (“worm”).

Noun

Tatzelwurm m (genitive Tatzelwurms or Tatzelwurmes, plural Tatzelwürmer)

1. (cryptozoology) Tatzelwurm

Related terms

• Lindwurm m

Further reading

• “Tatzelwurm” in Duden online