ˌaskˌhelˈminˌthēz, ˌaˌskel- noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from asc- + Helminthes
in some classifications : a phylum of pseudocoelomate animals including the Rotifera, Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, and sometimes the Acanthocephala all of which are sometimes regarded as independent phyla — compare entoprocta