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Added 9 October 2026

squirm

/skwɜːm/ noun

First recorded: 1690 Wiktionary

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

The act of wiggling.

verb

To move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling).
The prisoner writhed in discomfort

Origin

First recorded 1690's, originally used of eels; cognate with Scots squimmer (“to wriggle, squirm”). Of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal quirm, whirm (“to disappear quickly, vanish suddenly and mysteriously”), Norwegian kverva (“to turn around, take away, remove, shrink”), from Old Norse hverfa (“to turn, vanish”). Alternatively, perhaps imitative or related to worm (in the sense of writhing movement) or swarm.

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

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