Quick Definition
σκώληξ, ηκος, ὁ n.m. a gnawing worm
Strong's Definition
of uncertain derivation; a grub, maggot or earth-worm
KJV Usage: worm
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, m. | -ηκος | σκωληκόβρωτος
4.57 · Animals · Reptiles and Other 'Creeping Things'
maggot, worm small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things; most are larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles; symbols of uncleanness, decay, and death In MRK 9:48 the reference is clearly to the type of maggots which feed on refuse.
In a number of languages a very important distinction is made between three different types of worms: (1) maggots, (2) worms that live in the ground, so-called ‘earthworms,’ and (3) intestinal worms. It is essential that an appropriate term be employed in order to avoid meaninglessness or misunderstanding.
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
σκώληξ, -nxos, 6, [perh. akin to σκολιός], a worm (Hom. Il. 13, 654); spec. that kind which preys upon dead bodies (Sir. x. 11; xix. 3; 2 Mace. ix. 9; Anthol. 7, 480, 3; 10, 78, 3): ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτᾷ, by a fig. borrowed fr. Is. Ixvi. 24 (cf. Sir. vii. 17; Judith xvi. 17), ‘their punishment after death will never cease” [ox. symbolizing perh. the loathsomeness of the penalty} Mk. ix. 44, 46, [T WH om. Tr br. these two verses], 48.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
σκώληξ skōlēx 1x
a worm; met. gnawing anguish, Mk. 9:48*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
σκώληξ, -ηκος, ὁ
[in LXX chiefly for תּוֹלָע and cogn. forms ;]
a worm: of the kind which preys upon dead bodies, metaph., of fut. punishment, Mk 9:48 (LXX, Is 66:24; cf. Si 7:17, Jth 16:17).†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
σκώληξ, "ἐᾷ worm” (MGr σκουλήκι, σκωλήκι), comes from the same root as σκέλος : the linking notion is the meaning “bind,” ‘*twist” (Boisacq p. 882). For the metaph. use in Mk 948 LXX (cf. Sir 716, Judith 1617) we may compare Apoc. Petr. 10 ἐπέκειντο δὲ αὐτοῖς σκώληκες ὥσπερ νεφέλαι σκότους. See also Teles p. 31° κατορυχθέντα ὑπὸ σκωλήκων.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
σκώληξ (skōlēx) — worm. σκώληξ, ηκος, ὁ, worm, especially earthworm, ὥς τε σκώληξ ἐπὶ γαίῃ κεῖτο ταθείς [Refs 8th c.BC+]
2. plural, grubs or larvae of insects, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐξ οὗ ὅλου ὅλον γίνεται τὸ ζῷον, opposed to the egg (ᾠόν), [Refs 4th c.BC+]
3. plural, worms in dung, in decayed matter, in trees and wood, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
4. metaphorically, οἱ κόλακές εἰσι.. οὐσίας σκώληκες [Refs 4th c.BC+]
5. aerugo vermicularis, [Refs 1st c.AD+]
II. thread twisted from the distaff, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
III. Aeolic dialect for κολόκυμα, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
IV. worm-shaped cake, [Refs 4th c.AD+]
V. heap of threshed corn, [Refs 5th c.AD+]