the head of a tapeworm, provided with hooks or suckers and acting as a holdfast in the intestine of a host
Origin:
ModL < Gr skōlēx, grub, worm < IE base *(s)kel-, to bend, twist > L coluber, serpent
See scolex in American Heritage Dictionary 4
nounpl.sco·li·ces(-lĭ-sēzˌ)
The knoblike anterior end of a tapeworm, having suckers or hooklike parts that in the adult stage serve as organs of attachment to the host on which the tapeworm is parasitic.