glowworm

See also: glow-worm

English

A glowworm (Lampyris noctiluca)

A New Zealand glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa)

Alternative forms

glow-worm

Etymology

From Middle English glouworm; equivalent to glow +‎ worm.

Noun

glowworm (plural glowworms)

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.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene v]:
  The glowworm shows the matin to be near
  And ’gins to pale his uneffectual fire.
  Adieu, adieu, adieu! Remember me.
- 1604, William Alexander, The Alexandraean Tragedie, Act V, Scene 2, in The Monarchicke Tragedies, London: Ed. Blount, 1607,
  Some things afarre doe like the Glow-worme shine,
  That lookt to neere haue of that light no signe.
- c. 1613, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, London: John Waterson, 1623, Act IV, Scene 2,
  Glories (like glowe-wormes) a farre off, shine bright,
  But look’d to neere, haue neither heate, nor light.
- 1681, Andrew Marvell, “The Mower to the Glo-Worms” in Miscellaneous Poems, London: Robert Boulter, p. 44,
  Ye Glo-worms, whose officious Flame
  To wandring Mowers shows the way,
  That in the Night have lost their aim,
  And after foolish Fires do stray;
- 1819, William Wordsworth, “The Waggoner” Canto 1, in The Miscellaneous Poems of William Wordsworth, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1820, p. 7,
  Confiding Glow-worms, ’tis a night
  Propitious to your earth-born light!
- 1954, Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood, New York: New Directions, p. 1,
  Young girls lie bedded soft or glide in their dreams, with rings and trousseaux, bridesmaided by glowworms down the aisles of the organplaying wood.
(Australia, New Zealand) A carnivorous gnat larva in the keroplatid genus Arachnocampa that spins threads to capture insects attracted by its glow.

Translations

beetle larva or female

Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Aromanian: licurici m
Basque: ipurtargi
Belarusian: святляк m (svjatljak)
Catalan: lluerna (ca) f
Chamicuro: puulo
Chinese:
Mandarin: 螢火蟲／萤火虫 (zh) (yínghuǒchóng)
Erzya: орине (orine)
Esperanto: lampiro
Estonian: jaaniuss
Finnish: kiiltomato (fi)
French: ver luisant (fr) m
Galician: vagalume (gl) m, lucecú (gl) m
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Glühwürmchen (de) n, Leuchtkäfer (de) m, Johanniswürmchen n (regional), Johanniskäfer m (regional)
Greek:
Ancient: λαμπυρίς f (lampurís), πυγολαμπίς f (pugolampís)
Ido: lampiro (io)
Japanese: グローワーム (gurōwāmu), ツチボタル (tsuchibotaru)
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Latin: lampyris f
Low German: Glimmerworm m
Malayalam: മിന്നാമിനുങ്ങ് (ml) (minnāminuṅṅŭ)
Maori: titiwai (insect form), pūrātoke (larval form)
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norman: vèrpeu m
Portuguese: vaga-lume (pt)
Romanian: licurici (ro)
Russian: светля́к (ru) m (svetlják), жук-светля́к m (žuk-svetlják)
Spanish: luciérnaga (es) f
Telugu: మిణుగురుపురుగు (te) (miṇugurupurugu)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: ateş böceği (tr)
Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
Welsh: magïen f