worm-eaten

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   eaten, bored into, or damaged by worms or insect larvae

   The conservator replaced a worm-eaten board in the old chest.

2. 2
   adj

   figurative: worn out, decayed, or antiquated

   The reformers rejected the institution's worm-eaten rules.

From Middle English worm-eten, a compound of worm + the past participle of eat. The literal adjective describes material tunneled or consumed by worms or larvae; the long-established figurative sense compares obsolete or decayed things to damaged timber or food.

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