worm

n. [ OE. worm, wurm, AS. wyrm; akin to D. worm, OS. & G. wurm, Icel. ormr, Sw. & Dan. orm, Goth. waúrms, L. vermis, Gr. &unr_; a wood worm. Cf. Vermicelli, Vermilion, Vermin. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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). [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is slander,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm,
His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse. [ 1913 Webster ]

The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A being debased and despised. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am a worm, and no man. Ps. xxii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as: (a) The thread of a screw. [ 1913 Webster ]

The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms. Moxon. [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]