Tape: invented
Tape worms: come into existence
this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2025
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The first roundworm to see tape:
“Guys, I have an idea!”
Wrong way round. Tapes were named after tape worms.
Huh, found a source from 1683 where a guy named Edward Tyson presented his research on the worm to the Royal Society, and he called it the "joynted worm". He also refers to it by its Latin name Lumbricus latus which AFAIK just means "flat worm", and Lumbricus teres Intestinalis which I'm guessing means "round worm of the intestine".
This is actually a great paper because he's arguing against spontaneous generation of insects from rotting meat by pointing out that these worms are only found within the bodies of living animals and therefore must be the product of these animals eating eggs or body segments of the worm.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstl.1683.0020
OK, looks like at least as far back as this they were calling it "tape worm". This just makes me wonder how old "tape" is:
...And the first is, it's being flat; hence call'd Lumbricus Latus... and by some in English, the Tape-worm. -page 115
I believe tape is one of those words that used to have a more broad application, and then narrowed in on a new product.
I sew a bit, and "bias tape" is non-adhesive, thin strips of cloth used for hems and other edge applications. Measuring tapes likewise aren't adhesive and have probably been around for about as long as measuring has - my old art history class is ticking my brain, reminding me of measuring rods and ropes being the symbols of power and rulership in extremely ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, etc art.
According to this link, it is indeed an old word that meant "thin strip of cloth used for tying, measuring, etc". So it sounds like we're just doing tape dirty by forgetting it's one of the OGs of civilization.
tape(n.)
Old English tæppe "narrow strip of cloth used for tying, measuring, etc.," a word of uncertain origin; perhaps [Klein] a back-formation from Latin tapete "cloth, carpet." Middle English Compendium compares Old Frisian tapia, Middle Low German tapen "to pull, pluck, tear," and points to tabbe "strap or string" (mid-15c.), Norwegian dialectal tave "piece of cloth, rag."
https://www.etymonline.com/word/tape
yay etymology
Tape doesn't always refer to adhesive backed banding.
Think of all the non-adhesive tapes in modern day, like measuring tape, plumbing tape, video tape, cassette tape, binding tape, bias tape, Velcro tape, caution tape, seam tape, magnetic tape, etc.
Maybe tapeworms were named after tape?
Latin texts were calling it "Taenia" which means ribbon
Butt rice, because they didn't know it was worms
Probably the same thing they called viruses and bacteria: Demons.
Cestodes
Hailstones.
Cock ticklers