silkworm
nounUK /ˈsɪlkwɜːm/
Etymology From Middle English silkwirm, from Old English seolcwyrm (“silkworm”), equivalent to silk + worm.
1
Any of various caterpillars of moths that produce silk cocoons, especially Bombyx mori, the source of most commercial silk.
- Each of the two breeding periods, one in spring and one in summer, requires 2 to 3 tons of fresh leaves to feed 80,000 silkworms that will produce, on average, 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of silk fiber.2026, Elise Young, “Yagaa: Reviving Sericulture in Southern Mexico”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 16:
- Derived terms
- Pernyi silkworm, silkworm moth