squirm

== English == === Etymology === First recorded 1690's, originally used of eels; cognate with Scots squimmer (“to wriggle, squirm”). Of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal quirm, whirm (“to disappear quickly, vanish suddenly and mysteriously”), Norwegian kverva (“to turn around, take away, remove, shrink”), from Old Norse hverfa (“to turn, vanish”). Alternatively, perhaps imitative or related to worm (in the sense of writhing movement) or swarm. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /skwɜːm/ (General American) IPA(key): /skwɝm/ Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)m === Verb === squirm (third-person singular simple present squirms, present participle squirming, simple past and past participle squirmed) (intransitive) To twist one's body with snakelike motions. Synonyms: writhe, wriggle (intransitive) To twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment. Synonym: fidget To evade a question, an interviewer etc. (Can we add an example for this sense?) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === squirm (plural squirms) A twisting, snakelike movement of the body.