WordofTheDay.US

Added 10 October 2026

bookworm

/ˈbʊk.wɜːm/ noun

Categories: PeopleRare Words

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bookworm at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit.
  2. Someone who spends a great deal of time reading.

Origin

From book + worm. Compare West Frisian boekewjirm (“bookworm”), Dutch boekworm, boekwurm, boekenwurm (“bookworm”), Low German Bökerworm (“bookworm”), German Bücherwurm (“bookworm”), Danish bogorm (“bookworm”), Norwegian bokorm (“bookworm”), Faroese bókaormur (“bookworm”), Icelandic bókaormur (“bookworm”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: pedantscholasticreaderbook-wormbooklousewoodwormbudwormwoodborerbasketworm

Back to today's word