n 1  pl  fi*lar*i*ae   :  any of numerous slender filamentous nematodes that as adults are parasites in the blood or tissues of birds or mammals and as larvae usu. develop in biting insects (as fleas or mosquitos) that belong to the superfamily Filarioidea, and that for the most part were once included in the genus Filaria but are now divided among various genera (as Wuchereria and Onchocerca)  2  cap , in former classifications  :  a genus of nematodes that included most of the filarial worms .
 
   
 
Similar sounding terms:  fail·ure  feel·er  fi·lar   flare 
 
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