Nematode

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈnɛm.ə.təʊd/

Definitions

1. A small parasitic or free-living elongated roundworm with an unsegmented cylindrical body, found in soil or as internal parasites in animals and plants
2. A type of slender, unsegmented roundworm that can be either free-living in soil or parasitic within various organisms, including plants and animals
3. These elongated creatures, known for their cylindrical shape, can exist as either independent soil dwellers or as parasites affecting plant and animal health

Etymology: The name "nematode" comes from a Greek word for thread. The ancient Greek adjective "nēmatōdēs" meant "fibrous" or "in filaments," built from "nēma," meaning "thread" or "yarn," and the suffix "-ōdēs," meaning "-like." Ancient Greeks had no use for it as a creature name, though. The term was taken into modern scientific Latin as the name of a group of worms, "Nematoda," and English borrowed it from that scientific usage. The choice makes sense once you picture the worms. Many of them are slender, unsegmented and thread-shaped, so naming the group after threads was a natural description. The English word therefore describes a body shape rather than a habitat or a behaviour, even though many species are parasites and others live freely in soil.

Synonyms: roundworm, threadworm, eelworm, hookworm, ascarid