Meanings
plural teredos · plural teredoes
- biologyA mollusc of the genus Teredo, especially of species Teredo navalis.
Meet fell Teredo, as he mines the keel / With beaked head, and break his lips of steel […].
1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 1231 more example
No timber that would stand the exposure to water as well as the ravages of white ants and the teredo, could be found.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 272Synonyms: shipworm, copperworm
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA mollusc of the genus Teredo, especially of species Teredo navalis.
Origin
- Ancient Greekτερηδών“wood-worm”
- Latinterēdō“woodworm”
- Englishteredo
From Latin terēdō (“woodworm”), from Ancient Greek τερηδών (terēdṓn, “wood-worm”). Compare Ancient Greek: τέρην (térēn, “smooth, gentle”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian корабен червей
- корабен червей (koraben červej)Translations
French taret
- taretTranslations
Italian teredine
- teredineTranslations
Māori korotipa
- korotipaTranslations
Polish świdrak
- świdrakTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with teredo
Cite this entry
teredo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teredo
“teredo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teredo. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “teredo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teredo.
Source: teredo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.