earthworm
/ˈɜː(ɹ)θˌwɜː(ɹ)m/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.42 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A contemptible person; a groveller.
Example Sentences
- "It does not, however, happen that the whole spermatosphere is converted into spermatoblasts; there remains a passive portion, which in the earthworm occupies a central position; this is the "sperm-blasophore," or "blastophoral cell.""
- "Before the study was begun, the known oligochaete fauna of Tasmania consisted of six species of aquatic microdriles, twenty-three indigenous species of megascolecid earthworms, and introduced earthworms of the family Lumbricidae."
Etymology
From Middle English erthe-worm, erþe-worm, erþe worm (also as worm of þe erthe, worm of þe erþe), equivalent to earth + worm. Compare Saterland Frisian Äidwurm (“earthworm”), West Frisian ierdwjirm (“earthworm”), Dutch aardworm (“earthworm”), less common German Erdwurm (“earthworm”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: erthe-worm