hookworm

From hook +‎ worm.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhʊkˌwɝm/

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hookworm (countable and uncountable, plural hookworms)

2. (countable) Any of various parasitic bloodsucking roundworms which cause disease, especially the species Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus, having hooked mouthparts and entering their hosts by boring through the skin.

   Hypernyms: roundworm < worm; parasite

   Hyponyms: ancylostoma, Ancylostoma; Necator; Uncinaria

   • 1996 October 6, William Hathaway, “PARASITE LINKS MEN IN DARING VENTURE”, in Hartford Courant‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 November 2020:

     A heavy infestation of more than 100 hookworms can suck up as much as 16 fluid ounces of blood a day. Since hookworm larvae can be transmitted through a mother's milk, infestations can kill infants.

4. (metonymic, uncountable) Infection with one of these parasites.

   Synonyms: miner's worm, miner's anaemia; miner's disease (in one of its senses)

   Hypernyms: helminthiasis, helminthosis < disease < condition

   Hyponyms: ancylostomiasis, Egyptian chlorosis, tunnel disease; necatoriasis; uncinariasis (all have been loosely called "synonymous")

   a case of hookworm