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]