# vermiculation

> English word · Noun · IPA /vəmɪkjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n/

## Definitions
1. The process of being turned into a worm.
2. The state of being infested or consumed by worms.
3. A pattern of irregular wavy lines resembling worms or their casts or tracks, found on the plumage of birds, used to decorate artworks and buildings, etc.
4. Peristalsis (“wave-like contraction of the digestive tract, resembling the movement of a worm”).

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vermiculātiōnem, from vermiculor (“to be worm-eaten, to be wormy”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-tis (suffix forming abstract or action nouns from verb roots)). The Latin verb is from vermis (“worm”) (from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis (“worm”), possibly from *wer- (“to turn”)).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/vermiculation