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hairworm

[hair-wurm]
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noun
  1. any small, slender worm of the family Trichostrongylidae, parasitic in the alimentary canals of various animals.
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Origin of hairworm

First recorded in 1650–60; hair + worm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hairworm

Historical Examples

  • Here, too, comes that "hairworm" (Gordius), which most country folks call "hair eel" or "hair snake."

    Zoology: The Science of Animal Life

    Ernest Ingersoll

British Dictionary definitions for hairworm

hairworm

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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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