WORM

There are two names for a worm in Indo-European languages.

Estonian reflects both Avestan "kərəmā" in "kärm" and Slavic "červ" in "kärv". Both of those words mean a "snake" in Estonian, but a worm is just an underground snake.

In Ukrainian a name for the color red is "вермяний (vermjanyj)". In Prussian the names for color red are "wormyan, warmun, urminan" and those names obviously come from the name for an insect just like in Polish language color red is "czerwony" and that insect is "czerw". This name has its roots in a pigment created by "Porphyrophora polonica, Margarodes polonicus", which lives in the area of the Corded Ware Culture.

In Old Norse the initial "w" has been lost making "orm" from "worm", just like "ulfr" from "wulfr" and "Odin" from "Wodin".

KIR- GIR

Lithuanian: kirmis

Middle Persian: kirm

Baluchi: کرم‎ (kirm)

Kurdish: kirm

Parthian: kirm ("shooting star")

Sogdian: ܟܝܪܡ‎ (kirm) ("snake")

Gurani: کرمی‎ (kirmī)

Old Prussian: girmis

KER- GER-

Avestan: kərəmā

Zazaki: kerm(î)

Persian: کرم‎ (kerm)

---> Estonian: kärm, kärv ("snake")

---> Finnish: käärme, kärmes ("snake")

---> Ingrian: käärme ("snake")

---> Karelian: keärmis ("snake")

---> Livonian: kīermõz ("snake")

---> Ludian: kiärmeh ("snake")

---> Northern Sami: gearpmaš ("snake")

ČER-

Czech: červ

Slovak: červ

Lower Sorbian: cerw

Upper Sorbian: čerw

Russian: червь (červʹ), червя́к (červják)

Ukrainian: черв'я́к (červʺják)

Bulgarian: че́рвей (čérvej)

Polish: czerw

KAR-

Zazaki: karm(ī)

KAL-

Ossetian: калм (kalm) ("worm, small snake")

ČAR-

Belarusian: чарвя́к (čarvják)

ČR-

Old Church Slavonic: чрьвь ⱍⱃⱐⰲⱐ (črĭvĭ)

Macedonian: црв (crv)

Serbo-Croatian: цр̑в, cȓv

Slovene: čȓv

KR-

---> Telugu: క్రిమి (krimi)

Albanian: krimb

Sanskrit: कृमि (kṛ́mi) ("a worm, insect, a spider, a silk-worm, a shield-louse, an ant, lac = red dye caused by insects")

Sanskrit: क्रिमि (krimi)

Manichaean: krm

Old Irish: cruim

Irish: cruimh

CIR-

Latvian: cirmenis

KL-

Book Pahlavi: klm

KIM-

Pali: kimi

Sinhalese: කිමියා (kimiyā)

PR-

Middle Breton: preff

Breton: preñv

Old Cornish: prif

Middle Cornish: pref

Cornish: prev, pryv

Old Welsh: prem

Middle Welsh: pryf

Welsh: pryf

KN-

Scottish Gaelic: cnuimh

VARM-

Lithuanian: varmas ("mosquito, horsefly")

Old Prussian: warmun ("red")

Megleno-Romanian: varmi

WAURM-

Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃 (waurms)

VORM-

Old Dutch: worm

Old Frisian: worm

Middle Dutch: worm

Dutch: worm

Middle English: worm, worme

English: worm

Scots: worm

Middle Low German: worm

German Low German: Worm

Plautdietsch: Worm

Elfdalian: uorm

Old Prussian: wormyan ("red")

Hunsrik: Worrem

Föhr-Amrum: wörem

ORM-

Old Norse: ormr

Icelandic: ormur

Faroese: ormur

Norwegian: orm

Old Swedish: ormber

Swedish: orm

Danish: orm

Westrobothnian: orm

Norn: orm ("vermin, shoal of fish")

Gutnish: årm, årrm

VURM-

Old English: wyrm, ƿyrm

English: wyrm

Old Saxon: wurm

Old Dutch: wurm

Old High German: wurm

Middle High German: wurm

Middle English: wurm

Dutch: wurm

Afrikaans: wurm

Old High German: wurm

Middle High German: wurm

German: Wurm

Saterland Frisian: Wuurm

Alemannic German: Wüüre

Luxembourgish: Wuerm

URM-

Old Prussian: urminan ("red")

VERM-

Russian: ве́рмие (vérmije)

Ukrainian: вермяний (vermjanyj) ("red")

Catalan: verm

Middle English: werm

English: vermin, vermis

Galician: verme

Italian: verme

Occitan: vèrm

Portuguese: verme

Romanian: vierme

Romansch: verm, vierm

French: ver

Friulian: vier

Sicilian: vermu, vermi

Spanish: verme

Venetian: vermo, verme

Asturian: viérbene

Old Frisian: werm

VIRM-

Old Frisian: wirm

Middle English: wirm, wyrm, wyrme

Scots: wirm

West Frisian: wjirm

ROM-

Ancient Greek: ῥόμος (rhómos)

WRIM- RIM-

Middle English: wrim

Albanian: rrime

IER-

Aromanian: yermu, iermu

VEM-

Sicilian: vemmu

-ERM-

Istro-Romanian: l'erm, gl'erm

-WRA-

Welsh: gwraint

Article created on the 7th of April 2019.