Pronunciation: ' tü-b ə - ˌ feks-, ' tyü-
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin Tubific-, Tubifex, from Latin tubus tube + facere to make ― more at DO
Date: 1948
: any of a genus ( Tubifex ) of slender reddish tubificid worms that live in tubes in fresh or brackish water, are widely used as food for aquarium fish, and serve as a host for the protozoan causing whirling disease in fish ― called also tubifex