from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Vermes \Ver"mes\, n. pl. [L. vermes, pl. of vermis a worm.]
(Zool.)
(a) An extensive artificial division of the animal kingdom,
including the parasitic worms, or helminths, together
with the nemerteans, annelids, and allied groups. By some
writers the branchiopods, the bryzoans, and the tunicates
are also included. The name was used in a still wider
sense by Linnaeus and his followers.
(b) A more restricted group, comprising only the helminths
and closely allied orders.
[1913 Webster]