Earworm

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɪəwɜːm/

Definitions

1. A catchy fragment of music or melody that persistently repeats in one's mind, often involuntarily
2. A tune or snippet of song that repeatedly plays inside a person's head, sometimes to the point of distraction
3. An ear-catching piece of music that lodges itself in memory and recurs mentally without conscious effort

Etymology: The sense of "earworm" as a catchy tune stuck in the head is a translation of German "Ohrwurm," and the German word carries an old mistake inside it. Earwigs were long believed to crawl into people's ears, burrowing into the brain, and "Ohrwurm" took its name from that belief. English speakers adopted the idea by calque, copying the German parts into their own language, so a tune that keeps replaying in your mind became a worm in the ear. The English word was already in use for the insect itself, and it also named a moth larva that infests ears of maize, or sweet corn. Those older senses are simple compounds of "ear" and "worm," describing a creature found in or around ears, whether of a plant or of a person's head.

Synonyms: catchy tune, jingle