wormily

wormily

English

WOTD – 20 October 2008

Etymology

wormy +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwəː.mə.lɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɝ.mə.li/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adverb

wormily (comparative more wormily, superlative most wormily)

1. In a manner reminding of a worm, with much twisting and turning.
   • 1936, H. P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness,

     It was not, he declares, anything connected with the cubes and caves of echoing, vaporous, wormily honeycombed mountains of madness which he crossed […]

   • 1999, D. F. Lewis & Stuart Hughes, Beyond the comfort zone, Roadworks, # 4 (Spring 1999), 16-18

     Susan Klein’s fat, puppy-lard face began to ripple, and slowly, wormily, […] there emerged an ordinary looking individual who might have been seen just about anywhere.

   • 2006, Burton, Iowa City, Nov 17, 2006 (Comment)

     When the sleeping bag began squirming wormily and bouncing to the beat […]