Filaria

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}, {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
       [also: {filariiae} (pl)]