Helminth. This word cropped up in conversation over our postprandial coffee with friends last evening (you know who you are!) and it is one I’ve been meaning to write about for some time.
Helminth : A worm, especially a parasitic intestinal roundworm or tapeworm.
Yes, nasty things that you really don’t want to know about.
Hence anthelmintics or antihelminthics are drugs that expel such parasitic worms from the body, by either stunning or killing them. The drugs may also be called vermifuges (which stun) or vermicides (which kill).
Interestingly though, according to the OED, helminth is also a chlorite mineral which occurs in felspar and quartz.
Oh and the word comes from the Greek ἕλµινς, ἑλµινθ-, a worm.
[PS. No image with this one as nobody is that keen to be put off their tea!]