Standard Lemma guide

schistosome

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʃɪ.stə(ʊ)ˌsəʊm/
  • General-American: /ˈʃɪ.stəˌsoʊm/
  • General-American: /ˈskɪ.stəˌsoʊm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A parasitic flatworm which needs two hosts to complete its life cycle. The immature form infests freshwater snails and the adult lives in the blood vessels of birds and mammals, causing bilharzia in humans.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blood fluke

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

flatworms parasitic in the blood vessels of mammals

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blood fluke

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fluke, trematode, trematode worm

History

Etymology

From translingual Schistosoma, from Ancient Greek σχιστός (skhistós, “cleaved, divided”) + σῶμα (sôma, “body”).

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 血吸蟲 /血吸虫 (xuèxīchóng) — any worm of the genus Schistosoma
  • Finnish: halkiomato — any worm of the genus Schistosoma
  • Italian: schistosoma — any worm of the genus Schistosoma
  • Portuguese: esquistossomo — any worm of the genus Schistosoma
  • Russian: шистосо́ма (šistosóma) — any worm of the genus Schistosoma