A worm of thread-like form, as the GUINEA WORM, HAIR-WORM, etc.; esp. the pin-worm, Oxyuris (Ascaris) vermicularis, parasitic in the human rectum, chiefly in children.
1802. Bingley, Anim. Biog. (1813), III. 400. The Indian thread-worm, or guinea-worm,… enters the naked feet of the slaves.
1822–34. Good’s Study Med. (ed. 4), I. 274. The head of the thread-worm is subulate, nodose, and divided into three vesicles.
1879. Wright, Anim. Life, 582. The Thread Worm (Gordius aquaticus) is viviparous, and the young differ in form from the mother.
1899. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., VIII. 512. [Eczema] may follow the irritation of thread worms.
