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glowworm

[ gloh-wurm ]

/ ˈgloʊˌwɜrm /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR glowworm ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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What does “blatherskite” mean?

a person given to voluble, empty talk.

an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.

a check whose amount has been raised by forgery before cashing.

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Origin of glowworm

1300–50; Middle English. See glow, worm

Words nearby glowworm

glowfly, glowing, glow lamp, glow plug, glowstick, glowworm, gloxinia, gloze, Glu, Glubb, gluc-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for glowworm

And now, instead of the pale green and amber lamps of firefly and glowworm, burned only the fires of Tishnar's frost.
The Three Mulla-mulgars|Walter De La Mare
There were glowworm gems in the dark masses of her luxuriant hair.
A Soldier's Trial|Charles King
It will be said that this is a very large petitio to import into the glowworm's case.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 6 (of 12)|Robert G. Ingersoll
Let the pitch fall in the first words of the tenth stanza, "like a glowworm golden."
Vocal Expression|Katherine Jewell Everts

Suddenly there was a flash in the depths of the wood, as if a glowworm were flying by.
The Children of Alsace|Ren Bazin

British Dictionary definitions for glowworm

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

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