gordius Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun legendary king of ancient Phrygia who was said to be responsible for the Gordian knot

NL. See Gordian, 1.

(Zoöl.) 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.