Etymograph

English

ragworm

From rag + worm.

A compound of rag + worm

Proto-Germanic *rawwa-

Old Norse rǫgg ‘tuft’

Old English ragg

Middle English ragge ‘rag, cloth scrap’

English rag

Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis

Proto-Germanic *wurmiz

Proto-West Germanic *wurmi

Old English weorm

Middle English werm

English worm

Today it means

noun A polychaete worm in the genus Nereis or the family Nereididae, often used as bait in fishing.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / ragworm