#initial-load-header-loader { visibility: hidden!important; } #initial-load-content { visibility: visible!important; } .expandable .expandable-control { display: none!important; } .expandable .expandable-content { display: block!important; visibility: visible!important; max-height: none!important; height: auto!important; }

glowworm

[gloh-wurm]

|

noun

the wingless female or larva of the European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, which emits a sustained greenish light.

any of various other beetle larvae or wingless females that emit a glow rather than a flash of light.

RELATED CONTENT

Alaskan Bull Worm Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.

Cankers, Caterpillars, and Malt-worms: 3 Shakespearean Insults Great insults pepper the comedies and tragedies of William Shakespeare. (Though the Bard of Avon is known for his terms of endearments as well.) From A Midsummer Night’s Dream to King Henry IV, here are a few of our favorites. You canker blossom! This flowery barb is delivered by the newly lovelorn Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream after her beloved, Lysander, expresses his disinterest …

Nearby words

Origin of glowworm

1300–50; Middle English. See glow, worm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for glow-worm

There was nothing now in the world but himself and this glow-worm wandering across his hand.
Guy and Pauline|Compton Mackenzie
The frequency with which the Glow-worm was being laid up for repairs was beginning to get on our nerves.
The Campfire Girls Go Motoring|Hildegard G. Frey
He could not desire the star and find solace in the glow-worm—pursue Isolde and lag by the way with Moll Flanders.
Robert Orange|John Oliver Hobbes
In about a couple of days, my prisoner, but lately injured by the Glow-worm's treachery, is restored to his normal state.
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles|Jean Henri Fabre

Did it go out like the glow-worm's lamp, the life and sweetness of the flower?
Afoot in England|W.H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for glow-worm

glow-worm

noun

a European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, the females and larvae of which bear luminescent organs producing a greenish light: family Lampyridae

any of various other beetles or larvae of the family Lampyridae

See also firefly (def. 1)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for glow-worm

glow-worm

n.

early 14c., from glow (v.) + worm (n.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper