where does the term "book worm" come from?

Question

just a question.
is it a story?or just a saying?

Answer 1

The "bookworm" is not a single insect, but rather a group of insects which largely have in common their love of devouring parts of books and other documents. A person is referred to as a 'bookworm' when they have a similar intellectual appetite, 'devouring' books and printed material. The are prolific readers for whom a book is a virtual constant companion.

Answer 2

a book worm, a read worm, will eat the entire book given time. Having been in publishing and having worked for an antiquarian book store, I have seen worm holes that were almost an inch thick.

However a book worm is used more today to describe someone who is constantly reading books, which all of you should be doing so that you would understand the words that you are asking for the definition.

Answer 3

It's neither a story, or just a saying. Years ago, paper had a lot more wood pulp in its make-up. If the owner of the book didn't open and air-out the pages to search for bugs that were attracted to wood, and glue of the books, manuscripts, etc. they had a good chance to become infested with the larva of various spices of bugs. If the larva went unchecked the books would soon be eaten, and unusable. The saying that someone is a book worm refers to the larva worms that lived off the paper and glue in these early books. When we say someone is a book worm we're referring to the larva who needed the book (paper) to survive.

Answer 4

I'm not sure, but there is a type of worm that eats the glue that's used to bind the pages in the book. They are little small grey worms. I forgot what they are called, but they sure are hard to get rid of. I guess because these worms seem like they live in books and the "eat" books, people who love books are called bookworms, too, because they are always in books.

Answer 5

Bookworm is a popular generalization for any insect which supposedly bores through books.

Actual book-borers are uncommon. Both the larvae of the Death watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum) and the Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum) will tunnel through wood and if paper is nearby they will pass into that.

A major book-feeding insect is the booklouse (or book louse). A tiny (under 1 mm), soft-bodied wingless psocoptera (usually Trogium pulsatorium), that actually feeds on molds and other organic matter found in ill-maintained works, although they will also attack bindings and other parts. It is not actually a true louse. That where it came from......Flo

Answer 6

I think it was a term though up because some people believed that some types of worms lived in the books. They stayed there constantly, so if they saw someone with a book, it was one way of making fun of them.

Answer 7

A major book-feeding insect is the booklouse (or book louse). A tiny (under 1 mm), soft-bodied wingless psocoptera (usually Trogium pulsatorium), that actually feeds on molds and other organic matter found in ill-maintained works, although they will also attack bindings and other parts. It is not actually a true louse.

Answer 8

maybe the person is like a worm pushing and writhing through the book?
just a wild guess

Answer 9

book worm comes from worms family

Answer 10

There are such things as book worms, which consume the book, just like how some readers figuratively do it.