blindworm

---

Noun

blindworm (plural blindworms)

1. Anguis fragilis (slowworm), a small species of legless lizard.
   • 1587, Raphael Holinshed et al., Holinshed's Chronicles, Volume I, Book 3, Chapter 6, p. 228,

     […] we haue a blind worme to be found vnder logs in woods, and timber that hath lien long in a place, which some also doo call (and vpon better ground) by the name of [s]low worms, and they are knowen easilie by their more or lesse varietie of striped colours, drawen long waies from their heads, their whole bodies little excéeding a foot in length, & yet is there venem deadlie.

   • c. 1595, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 2,

     You spotted snakes with double tongue,

     Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;

     Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,

     Come not near our fairy queen.

---

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002