vermes

1 definition found

vermes - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Vermes \Ver"mes\, n. pl. [L. vermes, pl. of vermis a worm.]
     (Zool.)
     (a) An extensive artificial division of the animal kingdom,
         including the parasitic worms, or helminths, together
         with the nemerteans, annelids, and allied groups. By some
         writers the branchiopods, the bryzoans, and the tunicates
         are also included. The name was used in a still wider
         sense by Linnaeus and his followers.
     (b) A more restricted group, comprising only the helminths
         and closely allied orders.
         [1913 Webster]