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Original · left

Worm (animal)

A soft, limbless, burrowing invertebrate crawling through soil.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Computer worm

A standalone malicious program that actively spreads copies of itself across computer networks without requiring human activation or host files.

First in use: c. 1988

Worm / Worm (animal) / Computer worm

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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Earthworms vs. the Morris worm.

Which meaning of Worm is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Worm (animal) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Computer worm arrived in 1988. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Worm (animal)Computer worm
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

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The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Worm (animal)

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Duplicate · c. 1988

Computer worm

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More duplicated terms

Cybersecurity