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Worm   /wərm/   Listen
noun
Worm  n.  
1.
A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. (Archaic) "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." "'T is slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue Outvenoms all the worms of Nile." "When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm, His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks."
2.
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.
3.
An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse. "The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!"
4.
A being debased and despised. "I am a worm, and no man."
5.
Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as:
(a)
The thread of a screw. "The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms."
(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.
(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.
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.
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.


verb
Worm  v. t.  
1.
To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means; often followed by out. "They find themselves wormed out of all power." "They... wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell."
2.
To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm. See Worm, n. 5 (b).
3.
To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of, as a dog, for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw. The operation was formerly supposed to guard against canine madness. "The men assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies."
4.
(Naut.) To wind rope, yarn, or other material, spirally round, between the strands of, as a cable; to wind with spun yarn, as a small rope. "Ropes... are generally wormed before they are served."
To worm one's self into, to enter into gradually by arts and insinuations; as, to worm one's self into favor.


Worm  v. i.  (past & past part. wormed; pres. part. worming)  To work slowly, gradually, and secretly. "When debates and fretting jealousy Did worm and work within you more and more, Your color faded."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Worm" Quotes from Famous Books



... vow'd adorer. What a thing this Brother is! yet I'le vouchsafe him the new Italian shrug— How clownishly the Book-worm does return it! ...
— The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher - Vol. 2 of 10: Introduction to The Elder Brother • Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher
... double screw, something like a pair of intertwined corkscrews, fixed to a long handle. Inserted in the gun bore and twisted, it seized and drew out wads or the remains of cartridge bags stuck in the gun after firing. Worm screws were sometimes mounted in the head of the sponge, so that the piece could be sponged and wormed at ...
— Artillery Through the Ages - A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America • Albert Manucy
... counterfeit of sincerity, but, unmistakably, with sincerity itself. "I had prepared a speech," he was saying. "A prepared speech is useless in face of the emotion I feel at the life of Timothy Martlow. I say advisedly to you that when I think of Martlow, I know myself for a worm. He was despised and rejected. What had England done for him that he should give his life for her? We wronged him. We made an outcast of him. I personally wronged him from the magistrate's bench, and he pays us back like this, rising from an undeserved obscurity to a height where he ...
— The Best British Short Stories of 1922 • Edward J. O'Brien and John Cournos, editors
... useful on grounds of high policy, as well as for its own ends. And in order additionally to conciliate the good will of the home government, controlled as it was by mercantile interests chiefly, the silk-worm should be cultivated there, and England thus saved the duties on the Italian fabrics. Should there be slaves in the new Eden?—On all accounts, No: first because slavery was intrinsically wrong, and secondly because it would lead to idleness, if not to wealth, among the colonists. For the same reason, ...
— The History of the United States from 1492 to 1910, Volume 1 • Julian Hawthorne
... the city where was the dwelling of the Burgundian kings is called Worms, in remembrance of the dragon, or worm, which Siegfried slew; and a figure of that monster was for many years painted upon the city arms, and borne on the banner of the Burgundians. And, until recently, travellers were shown the Reisen-haus,—a stronghold, which, men say, Siegfried built; and in it were many strange ...
— The Story of Siegfried • James Baldwin


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