*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of worm

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wurmiz Proto-West Germanic *wurmi Old English wyrm Middle English worm English worm From Middle English werm, wirm, worm, worme, wrim, wurm, wyrm, wyrme, from Old English weorm, wurm, wyrm,

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To make (one's way) with a crawling motion. · To move with one's body dragging the ground. · To work one's way by artful or devious means. · To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.

noun

A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm. · More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms. See Appendix:English worms. · Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake (cf. “dragon”; blindworm, slowworm, “legless lizard”), snail, or caterpillar. · A maggot or any other insect larva with similar shape and behavior.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wurmiz Proto-West Germanic *wurmi Old English wyrm Middle English worm English worm From Middle English werm, wirm, worm, worme, wrim, wurm, wyrm, wyrme, from Old English weorm, wurm, wyrm, from Proto-West Germanic *wurmi, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz (“worm; snake”), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis (“worm; larva”), possibly from *wer- (“to turn”). Doublet of vermin and wyrm, the latter of which is a fairly recent borrowing directly from the Old English. (computing): First computer usage by John Brunner in his 1975 book The Shockwave Rider. Cognates Germanic cognates include North Frisian wörem, wörm, Würem (“worm”), Saterland Frisian Wurm, Wúurm (“worm”), West Frisian wjirm (“worm”), Alemannic German Wüüre (“worm”), Cimbrian bórm (“worm”), burm (“snake”), Dutch worm, wurm (“worm”), German Gewürm (“vermin”), Wurm (“worm”), Low German Worm (“worm”), Luxembourgish Wuerm (“worm”), Mòcheno burm (“snake”), Vilamovian vūəm, wüm (“worm”), Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem, “worm”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish orm (“worm”), Faroese and Icelandic ormur (“worm”), Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“worm”), yrme, yrmle (“female snake with offspring”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃 (waurms, “snake”), Kildin Sami уррьм (urr’m, “gadfly larva”), Skolt Sami uʹrmm (“gadfly larva”). Indo-European cognates include Latin vermis (“worm”), Ancient Greek ῥόμοξ (rhómox), ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm”), Albanian rrime (“rainworm”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 21 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:worm",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *wurmiz\nProto-West Germanic *wurmi\nOld English wyrm\nMiddle English worm\nEnglish worm\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wurmi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wyrm\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"worm\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"worm\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"worm\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "werm,wirm,worm,worme,wrim,wurm,wyrm,wyrme"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English werm, wirm, worm, worme, wrim, wurm, wyrm, wyrme"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "weorm"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English weorm"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*wurmi"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *wurmi"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wurmiz",
        "t": "worm; snake"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wurmiz (“worm; snake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*wr̥mis",
        "t": "worm; larva"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis (“worm; larva”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "vermin",
        "3": "wyrm"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of vermin and wyrm"
    },
    {
      "name": "s",
      "args": {
        "1": "computing"
      },
      "expansion": "(computing):"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "wörem"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian wörem"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Wurm"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Wurm"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "wjirm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian wjirm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "Wüüre",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German Wüüre (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "bórm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian bórm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch worm"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Gewürm",
        "t": "vermin"
      },
      "expansion": "German Gewürm (“vermin”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "Worm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German Worm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Wuerm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Wuerm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mhn",
        "2": "burm",
        "t": "snake"
      },
      "expansion": "Mòcheno burm (“snake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "vūəm"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian vūəm"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "וואָרעם",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem, “worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb,sv",
        "2": "orm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish orm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "ormur",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic ormur (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "orm",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃",
        "t": "snake"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃 (waurms, “snake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sjd",
        "2": "уррьм",
        "t": "gadfly larva"
      },
      "expansion": "Kildin Sami уррьм (urr’m, “gadfly larva”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sms",
        "2": "uʹrmm",
        "t": "gadfly larva"
      },
      "expansion": "Skolt Sami uʹrmm (“gadfly larva”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "vermis",
        "t": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin vermis (“worm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ῥόμοξ"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ῥόμοξ (rhómox)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "rrime",
        "t": "rainworm"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian rrime (“rainworm”)"
    },
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      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:worm",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *wurmiz\nProto-West Germanic *wurmi\nOld English wyrm\nMiddle English worm\nEnglish worm"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*wurmiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wurmiz"
    ],
    [
      "*wurmi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wurmi"
    ],
    [
      "wyrm",
      "wyrm#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "worm",
      "worm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "werm",
      "werm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wirm",
      "wirm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "worm",
      "worm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "worme",
      "worme#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wrim",
      "wrim#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wurm",
      "wurm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyrm",
      "wyrm#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyrme",
      "wyrme#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "weorm",
      "weorm#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wurm",
      "wurm#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyrm",
      "wyrm#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wurmi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wurmi"
    ],
    [
      "*wurmiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wurmiz"
    ],
    [
      "*wr̥mis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wr̥mis"
    ],
    [
      "*wer-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wer-"
    ],
    [
      "vermin",
      "vermin#English"
    ],
    [
      "wyrm",
      "wyrm#English"
    ],
    [
      "wörem",
      "wörem#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "wörm",
      "wörm#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Würem",
      "Würem#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Wurm",
      "Wurm#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Wúurm",
      "Wúurm#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "wjirm",
      "wjirm#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Wüüre",
      "Wüüre#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "bórm",
      "bórm#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "burm",
      "burm#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "worm",
      "worm#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "wurm",
      "wurm#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Gewürm",
      "Gewürm#German"
    ],
    [
      "Wurm",
      "Wurm#German"
    ],
    [
      "Worm",
      "Worm#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Wuerm",
      "Wuerm#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "burm",
      "burm#Mòcheno"
    ],
    [
      "vūəm",
      "vūəm#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "wüm",
      "wüm#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "וואָרעם",
      "וואָרעם#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "orm#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "orm#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "orm",
      "orm#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "ormur#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "ormur",
      "ormur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "orm",
      "orm#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "yrme",
      "yrme#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "yrmle",
      "yrmle#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃",
      "𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "уррьм",
      "уррьм#Kildin_Sami"
    ],
    [
      "uʹrmm",
      "uʹrmm#Skolt_Sami"
    ],
    [
      "vermis",
      "vermis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ῥόμοξ",
      "ῥόμοξ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ῥόμος",
      "ῥόμος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "rrime",
      "rrime#Albanian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.",
        "To move with one's body dragging the ground.",
        "To work one's way by artful or devious means.",
        "To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive",
        "figuratively"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 167637
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm.",
        "More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms. See Appendix:English worms.",
        "Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake (cf. “dragon”; blindworm, slowworm, “legless lizard”), snail, or caterpillar.",
        "A maggot or any other insect larva with similar shape and behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "poetic",
        "broadly",
        "informal"
      ],
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    "lexicalSenses": 21,
    "glosses": 0
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for worm →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
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Permanent entry ID
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