Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A bioluminescent larva or a wingless wormlike female of certain insects, especially fireflies and beetles of the family Phengodidae.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The common English name of Lampyris noctiluca, a species of pentamerous beetles, of the family Lampyridæ and subfamily Lampyrinæ: a name applicable strictly only to the female, which is wingless, somewhat resembles a caterpillar, and emits a shining green light from the end of the abdomen. The male is winged and not phosphorescent, resembling an ordiuary beetle; he flies about in the evening, and is attracted by the light of the female. The same name is given to other species of Lampyris, as L. splendidula. Some related beetles are known in the United States as fireflies and lightning-bugs.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A coleopterous insect of the genus Lampyris; esp., the wingless females and larvæ of the two European species (L. noctiluca, and L. splendidula), which emit light from some of the abdominal segments.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The larva or wingless grub-like female of a beetle from the families Phengodidae or Lampyridae that gives out a green light from its abdomen.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the luminous larva or wingless grub-like female of a firefly

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Your poetical pieces will do very well but the glowworm will remain at the top unless you can ever beat it.

    Letter 366 2009

  • Outside the walls, a human glowworm passed to and fro, this being the blur of pedestrian traffic.

    Dead Zero Stephen Hunter 2010

  • Once something like a foot-long glowworm crawled out of the shallows to dance and writhe near his feet.

    A Corridor in the Asylum 2010

  • Outside the walls, a human glowworm passed to and fro, this being the blur of pedestrian traffic.

    Dead Zero Stephen Hunter 2010

  • Ginger, bleeding badly, tracked the gun right through the glowworm incandescence of the Eotech sight and brought the gun right to bear on what of Bob he could see or sense, even while rising to his feet.

    A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009

  • "They're just so roomy," an older dame decked out like a human glowworm declared, sneaking her head out to watch the new president's inaugural address.

    Karin Tanabe: Inauguration Style on the National Mall 2009

  • Ginger, bleeding badly, tracked the gun right through the glowworm incandescence of the Eotech sight and brought the gun right to bear on what of Bob he could see or sense, even while rising to his feet.

    A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009

  • Ginger, bleeding badly, tracked the gun right through the glowworm incandescence of the Eotech sight and brought the gun right to bear on what of Bob he could see or sense, even while rising to his feet.

    A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009

  • To gaze upon the same planet in space, or at the same glowworm gleaming in the grass;

    Les Miserables 2008

  • His enchanted forest is a field of hanging upside-down glowworm lights and Magritte umbrellas.

    Love On The Run 2008

Comments

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  • John Eglinton looked in the tangled glowworm of his lamp.

    Joyce, Ulysses, 9

    January 5, 2007

  • This word looks so good. How many words have we got with double double u's?

    December 24, 2007

  • Prolly not many. Bowwow and powwow come to mind.

    December 24, 2007

  • There's probably about 50 altogether: generally ending in -wood, -work, -worm and -wort: arrowwood, pillowwork, and yellowwort, to keep with the -owwo- pattern. Interested in teaming up on them? Reesetee did a Zz... list.

    December 24, 2007

  • Sure, sounds like fun :-)

    December 24, 2007

  • Okay, Misterpolly and bilby, I've created the shared list ..ww... Have at it!

    December 24, 2007

  • Neat idea! *runs off to check out ...ww... list*

    December 29, 2007