A compound of gape + worm
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape, be wide open’
Proto-Germanic *gapōną ‘to gaze, observe’
Old Norse gapa ‘to gape’
Middle English gapen
English gape
Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis
Proto-Germanic *wurmiz
Proto-West Germanic *wurmi
Old English weorm
Middle English werm
English worm
Today it means
noun A parasitic nematode worm (Syngamus trachea), that infects the tracheas of some birds and causes the disease gapes.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / gapeworm
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