fə̇ˌla(a)rēˈȯidēə noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Filaria + -oidea
: a large superfamily of the nematode order Spirurida that comprises the medically important filarial worms and related forms having a slender thready body, a simple anterior end with the oral lips inconspicuous, a cylindrical esophagus lacking a bulbus, and often unequal and dissimilar copulatory spicules in the male