‖n. [ NL. See Gordian, 1. ] (Zool.) A genus of long, slender, nematoid worms, parasitic in insects until near maturity, when they leave the insect, and live in water, in which they deposit their eggs; -- called also hair eel, hairworm, and hair snake, from the absurd, but common and widely diffused, notion that they are metamorphosed horsehairs. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. See Poly-, and Gordius. ] (Zool.) A genus of marine annelids, believed to be an ancient or ancestral type. It is remarkable for its simplicity of structure and want of parapodia. It is the type of the order Archiannelida, or Gymnotoma. See Loeven's larva. [ 1913 Webster ]