WORM

Definitions

1. 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. Tyndale (Acts xxviii. 3, 4). 'T is slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue Outvenoms all the worms of Nile. Shak. When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm, His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks. Longfellow.
2. 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: (Zoöl.)
3. 3. Any helminth; an entozoön.
4. 4. Any annelid.
5. 5. An insect larva. (d) pl.
6. 6. Same as Vermes.
7. 7. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse. The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! Shak.
8. 8. A being debased and despised. I am a worm, and no man. Ps. xxii. 6.
9. 9. Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as:
10. 10. The thread of a screw. The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms. Moxon.
11. 11. A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
12. 12. The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to economize space. See Illust. of Still.