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Webster 1913 Edition


Dracunculus

‖

Dra-cun′cu-lus

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Dracunculi
(#)
.
[L., dim. of
draco
dragon.]
(Zool.)
(a)
A fish; the dragonet.
(b)
The Guinea worm (
Filaria medinensis
).

Webster 1828 Edition


Dracunculus

DRACUNCULUS

,
Noun.
[L.]
1.
In botany, a plant, a species of Arum, with a long stalk, spotted like a serpents belly.
2.
In medicine, a long slender worm, bred in the muscular parts of the arms and legs called Guinea worm. These are troublesome in tropical climates, and are usually extirpated by the point of a needle.