hairworm

American  

[hair-wurm] / ˈhɛərˌwɜrm /

noun

1. any small, slender worm of the family Trichostrongylidae, parasitic in the alimentary canals of various animals.

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hairworm British  

/ ˈhɛəˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any hairlike nematode worm of the family Trichostrongylidae, such as the stomach worm, parasitic in the intestines of vertebrates

2. Also called: horsehair worm.  any very thin long worm of the phylum (or class) Nematomorpha, the larvae of which are parasitic in arthropods

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Etymology

Origin of hairworm

First recorded in 1650–60; hair + worm

Example Sentences

They found over 3,000 hairworm genes that were expressed more when hosts were being manipulated, and 1,500 hairworm genes that were expressed less.

From Science Daily • Oct. 19, 2023

"The many cases of horizontal gene transfer that we have found in the hairworm can be a good model for study," Mishina says.

From Science Daily • Oct. 19, 2023

There’s Spinochordodes tellinii, the hairworm that compels crickets to drown themselves so the worm can access the water it needs to breed.

From Scientific American • Jul. 17, 2017

The newly named Baracktrema obamai is the second parasite named for the 44th president, according to the Associated Press, following a parasitic hairworm found in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya in 2012.

From Slate • Sep. 9, 2016

For his part, Obama also has a trapdoor spider, a species of lichen, a puffbird, a parasitic hairworm that infects crickets, and an extinct lizard called Obamadon named after him.

From National Geographic