nematode

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from translingual Nematoda, from Ancient Greek νηματώδης (nēmatṓdēs, “fibrous, in filaments”), from νῆμα (nêma, “thread, yarn”) + -ώδης (-ṓdēs, “-like”).

1. A worm of the large phylum Nematoda, such as a roundworm or threadworm.

   “Nematodes are free-living, soil-dwelling microscopic worms.”