filaria

3 definitions found

filaria - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Filaria \Fi*la"ri*a\, n.; pl. filariae. [NL., fr. L. filum a
     thread.] (Zool.)
     a small, slender nematode worm of the family Onchocercidae
     (Filariidae) of many species, parasitic when adult in
     various animals, including man. They may live within the
     blood, or in other bodily fluids, or within tissues or
     cavities of the body. Infection with such organisms may be
     transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]

  Filaria \Fi*la"ri*a\, n. [NL., fr. L. filum a thread.] (Zool.)
     a former genus comprised of certain nematodes, now classed as
     belonging to several genera within the family
     Onchocercidae. See Onchocerca and Guinea worm.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]

filaria - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  filaria
      n 1: European weed naturalized in southwestern United States and
           Mexico having reddish decumbent stems with small fernlike
           leaves and small deep reddish-lavender flowers followed by
           slender fruits that stick straight up; often grown for
           forage [syn: redstem storksbill, alfilaria,
           alfileria, filaree, filaria, clocks, pin grass,
           pin clover, Erodium cicutarium]
      2: slender threadlike roundworms living in the blood and tissues
         of vertebrates; transmitted as larvae by biting insects