ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
: a small nematode worm ( Anguina tritici ) that is parasitic on wheat, oats, and other grasses, that invades the plant at the leaf axil as a larva where it induces stunting and distortion of leaves, and that subsequently passes to the inflorescence and causes the seeds to be replaced by galls in which the larva matures and produces a new generation of larvae to be distributed in the soil when the gall is shed and decays — called also wheat eel