GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Worm , n. [OE. worm, wurm, AS. wyrm; akin to D. worm, OS. & G. wurm, Icel. ormr, Sw. & Dan. orm, Goth. waúrms, L. vermis, Gr.  a wood worm. Cf. Vermicelli, Vermilion, Vermin.]
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   A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. [Archaic]
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   There came a viper out of the heat, and leapt on his hand. When the men of the country saw the worm hang on his hand, they said, This man must needs be a murderer.
   Tyndale (Acts xxviii. 3, 4).
   
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   'T is slander,
   Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
   Outvenoms all the worms of Nile.
   Shak.
   
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   When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm,
   His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks.
   Longfellow.
   
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   Any small creeping animal or reptile, either entirely without feet, or with very short ones, including a great variety of animals; as, an earthworm; the blindworm. Specifically: (Zool.) (a) Any helminth; an entozoon. (b) Any annelid. (c) An insect larva. (d) pl. Same as Vermes.
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   An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse.
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   The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!
   Shak.
   
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   A being debased and despised.
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   I am a worm, and no man.
   Ps. xxii. 6.
   
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   Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as: (a) The thread of a screw.
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   The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms.
   Moxon.
   
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   (b) A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms. (c) (Anat.) A certain muscular band in the tongue of some animals, as the dog; the lytta. See Lytta. (d) The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to economize space. See Illust. of Still. (e) (Mach.) A short revolving screw, the threads of which drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel by gearing into its teeth or cogs. See Illust. of Worm gearing, below.
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   Worm abscess (Med.), an abscess produced by the irritation resulting from the lodgment of a worm in some part of the body. -- Worm fence. See under Fence. -- Worm gear. (Mach.) (a) A worm wheel. (b) Worm gearing. -- Worm gearing, gearing consisting of a worm and worm wheel working together. -- Worm grass. (Bot.) (a) See Pinkroot, 2 (a). (b) The white stonecrop (Sedum album) reputed to have qualities as a vermifuge. Dr. Prior. -- Worm oil (Med.), an anthelmintic consisting of oil obtained from the seeds of Chenopodium anthelminticum. -- Worm powder (Med.), an anthelmintic powder. -- Worm snake. (Zool.) See Thunder snake (b), under Thunder. -- Worm tea (Med.), an anthelmintic tea or tisane. -- Worm tincture (Med.), a tincture prepared from dried earthworms, oil of tartar, spirit of wine, etc. [Obs.] -- Worm wheel, a cogwheel having teeth formed to fit into the spiral spaces of a screw called a worm, so that the wheel may be turned by, or may turn, the worm; -- called also worm gear, and sometimes tangent wheel. See Illust. of Worm gearing, above.
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