ˌliŋgwəˈtülədə, -wə.ˈtyü- noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Linguatula + -ida
: a group of wormlike pseudosegmented parasitic animals that are considered to constitute a separate phylum, a class of Arthropoda, or especially formerly an order of Arachnida, that lack eyes, circulatory system, and respiratory organs, that live as adults in the respiratory passages or body cavity of reptiles, birds, or mammals, and that undergo larval development in the visceral tissues of similar hosts and that comprise the tongue worms