/ English Dictionary |
GUINEA WORM
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Parasitic roundworm of India and Africa that lives in the abdomen or beneath the skin of humans and other vertebrates
Synonyms:
Dracunculus medinensis; Guinea worm
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("Guinea worm" is a kind of...):
nematode; nematode worm; roundworm (unsegmented worms with elongated rounded body pointed at both ends; mostly free-living but some are parasitic)
Holonyms ("Guinea worm" is a member of...):
Dracunculus; genus Dracunculus (type genus of the family Dracunculidae)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A painful and debilitating infestation contracted by drinking stagnant water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae that can mature inside a human's abdomen until the worm emerges through a painful blister in the person's skin
Synonyms:
dracunculiasis; Guinea worm; Guinea worm disease
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("Guinea worm" is a kind of...):
infestation (the state of being invaded or overrun by parasites)