caddis

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a caddisfly or its aquatic larva, which often builds a portable case from sand, twigs, or other debris

   The caddis covered its larval case with tiny grains of quartz.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a coarse woollen yarn, cloth, ribbon, or binding

   The tailor reinforced the edge with a strip of caddis.

The textile sense comes through French forms such as cadis from an Occitan or Catalan word for coarse woollen material. The insect sense occurs especially in caddisworm and caddisfly; its historical relation to the cloth word is uncertain, though the larva's portable case may have encouraged the name.

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