Meanings
plural galleyworms
- A centipede or millipede.
that evil idiot, who walked slowly dragging himself along like a galleyworm.
1972, René Maran, Batouala: A True Black Novel, page 642 more examples
The larvae are elongated and in many cases much like the more flattened millipedes or galleyworms in appearance.
1936, Rennie Wilbur Doane, Edwin Cooper Van Dyke, Willard Joseph Chamberlin, Forest Insects, page 212Once I managed to combine something in which I had included also roach pulp and galleyworm legs.
1996, Graziella Parati, Public History, Private Stories: Italian Women's Autobiography, page 85
Origin
From the way this creature resembles a worm with many legs, and the way the legs resemble the oars of a ship.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
galleyworm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galleyworm
“galleyworm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galleyworm. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “galleyworm,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galleyworm.
Source: galleyworm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.