Definition of "silkworm" [silk•worm]

• Any of various caterpillars that produce silk cocoons, especially the larva of a moth (Bombyx mori) native to Asia that spins a cocoon of fine, strong, lustrous fiber that is the source of commercial silk. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The boiled chrysalis of a species of silkworm is exposed for sale as a great delicacy, and so are certain kinds of hairless, fleshy caterpillars."
• "Silk, too, is manufactured from vegetable matter, independent of the silkworm, which is now seen only in museums."
• "For Bookings: www. asiatravel.com For More Video: book. asiatravel.com The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree"), the domesticated silkmoth."