caddisworm

American

[kad-is-wurm] / ˈkæd ɪsˌwɜrm /

noun

the aquatic larva of a caddisfly, having an armored head and a pair of abdominal hooks, and typically living in a case built from sand or plant debris.

1615–25; caddis (perhaps plural, taken as singular, of caddy, diminutive of cad larva, ghost) + worm

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023