Chariot Learning
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Our Curriculum
    • Areas Chariot Learning Serves
  • Services
    • SAT & ACT Prep
    • SAT/ACT TestFlip
    • Academic Coaching
    • Subject Tutoring
    • Strategic Reading Club
    • Proctored Practice Tests
    • GRE Prep
    • College Essay Coaching
    • Roots2Words
  • Calendar
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact
April 7, 2022 by Mike Bergin

Bookworms, Read Rats, and More

Reading, as we say over and over and over, is fundamental to learning, understanding, and living well. But maybe the practice would be more popular if enthusiasts weren’t tagged with such insulting monikers. Who wants to be called a bookworm anyway?

According to Addison Rizer’s comprehensive History of the Bookworm, this derogatory term dates back to the 16th century:

The earliest documented appearance of the word bookworm, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is in 1580: It appears in Three Proper and Witty Familiar Letters, a series of correspondences between scholar Gabriel Harvey and poet Edmund Spenser. One of the men writes of someone reading too much, “A morning bookeworm, an afternoone maltworm.”

Back then, the term denoted idleness or vice: “Those who were bookworms were ‘candle-wasters’ and ‘maltworms,’ a reference to being an alcoholic.” Today, most devoted readers enjoy recognition of their erudition, despite being compared to vermin.

Interestingly, nearly every language finds a way to label avid readers with, at best, faint praise:

Book maggot (Albanian)
Book moth (Arabic)
Book rat (Bulgarian)
Letters-wounded (Catalan)
书虫 (shuchong)/bookworm /book fool (Chinese)
Page mage (Croatian)
Book moth/knihomol (Czech)
Reading horse, bookworm (Danish)
Book worm (Dutch)
Bookworm (English)
Raamatukoi/book moth (Estonian)
Book caterpillar, reading larvae, chapter maggot (Finnish)
Ink drinker, library rat (French)
Read-rat, bookworm (German)
Bookeater/βιβλιοφάγος (Greek)
Book insect/kitaab ka kida (Hindi)
Book moth (Hungarian)
Book flea, book louse (Indonesian)
Topo di biblioteca/library mouse (Italian)
Book bug (Japanese)
Reading madness, bookbug (Korean)
Book rat (Lithuanian)
Book caterpillar (Malay)
Book worm (Mongolian)
Reading horse (Norwegian)
Bookslut (Paraguay)
Book worm (Persian)
Book moth (Polish)
rato de biblioteca/library rat (Portuguese)
Soarece de bibliotecă/library mouse (Romanian)
Book worm (Russian)
Book worm (Serbian)
Library rat (Spanish)
Book moth, book swallower, study horse (if reading a lot for study) (Swedish)
Book worm (Thai)
Book maggot, bookworm (Turkish)
Word-fiddler (Ukrainian)
Kitaabi keera/book insect (Urdu)
Book weevil (Vietnamese)
Book swallower, book bug (Welsh)
Igi ìwé (book tree) (Yoruba)

Do you read enough to earn one of these nicknames? Which one would you most prefer to be called?

reading

Previous articleThe Hidden Beauty of MathNext article If It Doesn't Challenge You, It Doesn't Change You
Mike Bergin
Tens of thousands of students a year prep for the SAT & ACT through programs Mike Bergin created or organized. After more than 25 years of intensive experience in the education industry, he's done it all as a teacher, tutor, director, curriculum developer, blogger, podcaster, and best-selling author. Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Helping high schoolers with tests, school, and life is what Chariot Learning is all about. Let us know how we can help you!

Latest Posts

  • What Does ‘Smart’ Mean in the 21st Century
  • How to Read Percentiles
  • Do SAT & ACT Subscores Matter?
  • Evaluating College ROI
  • What to Read This Summer

What is TestFlip?

Learn about the ultimate in self-directed supplemental SAT/ACT prep, powered by Chariot Learning:

  • Set goals that are *almost* out of reach.
    by chariotlearning 1 week ago
    Set goals that are *almost* out of reach.
  • When someone says you can
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    When someone says you can't do it, do it twice and take pictures!
  • Be patient when becoming someone you haven
    by chariotlearning 6 days ago
    Be patient when becoming someone you haven't been before.
  • Get up and try again.
    by chariotlearning 5 hours ago
    Get up and try again.
  • Being intelligent is not a felony but may get you in trouble anyway ;)
    by chariotlearning 1 week ago
    Being intelligent is not a felony but may get you in trouble anyway ;)
  • Do not waste time thinking about what you could have done differently. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and
    by chariotlearning 2 days ago
    Do not waste time thinking about what you could have done differently. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and
  • Life is about
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    Life is about 'not knowing' and then doing something anyway. Get good at it!
  • You have no idea what you can "survive" until you have no choice!
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    You have no idea what you can "survive" until you have no choice!

Subscribe to Mike’s Podcast

Subscribe to Tests and the Rest

PARENT GROUP AND NEWSLETTER

Are you an Upstate New York parent with questions about college admissions, testing, and scholarships? The Upstate NY College Conversations Facebook group is for you. Join today!

And also sign up for College Road, our free email newsletter delivering expert educational advice, test news, admissions action steps, special offers, and more.

Upcoming Events

  1. SAT/ACT Extended Class – Summer Mornings 2022

    July 6 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
  2. SAT/ACT Online Flipped Class – July 2022

    July 6 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  3. Practice SAT – Brighton (7/8/22)

    July 8 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  4. Practice ACT – Pittsford Library (7/12/22)

    July 12 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  5. SAT/ACT Extended Class – Summer Evenings 2022

    July 12 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

View All Events

Testimonials

Working with Chariot Learning was the best preparation choice we could have made. Robert's test scores increased by nearly 50 percentile points. Plus he learned reading and writing skills that he was able to apply immediately in school. Thanks so much!

Bob & Sarah, Brighton parents

Read more testimonials...
© 2022 Chariot Learning, LLC. All rights reserved.