Baitworm

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of worm used primarily as fishing lure to attract fish ; an annelid employed to entice aquatic species for capture ; a small segmented worm commonly offered as bait in angling activities
2. A worm serving as a fishing attractant ; a slender, elongated invertebrate favored by anglers to lure fish ; a natural bait organism utilized in sport and commercial fishing
3. An elongated marine or terrestrial worm used to draw fish ; a segmented worm commonly baited on hooks to catch fish ; an aquatic or soil-dwelling worm often used in fishing to entice catches

Etymology: "Baitworm" is a plain English compound: "bait," from Old English "bāt" (a meal or food, later a lure), joined to "worm," from Old English "wyrm," a general word for any small creeping creature. The combination describes exactly what it names, a worm used as bait, and it has no special history beyond that. The first half deserves a closer look. "Bait" once meant food in the general sense and was related to "bite" and to the verb "bait," meaning to feed or to stop for refreshment on a journey. Its sense narrowed over centuries to the lure used to trap animals, so a worm used on a hook carries a meaning that has been shaping since the earliest English records.

Synonyms: earthworm, angler worm