hairworm
- noun
- /ˈhɛrˌwɜrm/
- Specialized
- The hairworm infects its host and can grow as long as several centimeters.
Examples
-
Mr. Hanelt found his hairworm, a female-only species called Paragordius obamai, in Kenya near where Mr. Obama's father once lived.
Academic text (2016) -
The gesture is intended as an honor, said Ben Hanelt, a biologist at the University of New Mexico, who named a hairworm for Mr. Obama.
Academic text (2016) -
After the insect is infected, the hairworm can emerge from its body in a long, thin form.
-
Researchers discovered a new species of hairworm that targets specific types of beetles.
Synonyms
A small soft animal without legs that lives in soil or water
A small worm with a long smooth body that lives in soil or water
A small animal that lives inside another animal and takes its food, often causing sickness
A very small thin animal with a pointed body that lives in soil or inside other living things
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Hairworm comes from the two simple English parts hair and worm, because these worms are long and thin like a single 'hair'. So, a hairworm is a worm that looks like a strand of hair and often lives in or on insects.