noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A parasite of humans and of many domestic and wild animals, thought to be the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, that forms compound cysts or tumours (called hydatid cysts) in various organs, but especially in the liver and lungs. archaic
2. 2
   tapeworms whose larvae are parasitic in humans and domestic animals wordnet

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Echinococcus, from echino- (“sea urchin, prickle”) + -coccus (“spherical microorganism”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.