chrysalis

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/ See IPA manual

Freq #37058

Meanings

1

noun
The hard case in which a caterpillar changes into a butterfly or moth.

After several days, a butterfly emerged from the chrysalis.
2

noun
A stage or situation from which something develops into a new, better form.

The small startup emerged from its chrysalis as a global company.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms chrysalideschrysalises

Derived forms chrysalidchrysalinechrysalisedchrysalismchrysaloidteleiochrysalis

Etymology

From Latin chrysalis, variant of chrȳsallis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), usually derived from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold, golden”) + -αλλ- + -ις (-is, “-id: forming feminine nouns”) but compare θρυαλλίς (thruallís) and ἀρυβαλλίς (aruballís), both believed to come from a Pre-Greek substrate on the basis of their unusual endings.

chrysalis Latin χρυσαλλίς Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# chrysalis

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/
**Frequency rank:** 37058

## Meanings
1. The hard case in which a caterpillar changes into a butterfly or moth.
2. A stage or situation from which something develops into a new, better form.

## Examples
- After several days, a butterfly emerged from the chrysalis.
- The small startup emerged from its chrysalis as a global company.

## Derived Forms
- chrysalid
- chrysaline
- chrysalised
- chrysalism
- chrysaloid
- teleiochrysalis

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: chrysalis
- Root: χρυσαλλίς

## Etymology
From Latin chrysalis, variant of chrȳsallis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), usually derived from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold, golden”) + -αλλ- + -ις (-is, “-id: forming feminine nouns”) but compare θρυαλλίς (thruallís) and ἀρυβαλλίς (aruballís), both believed to come from a Pre-Greek substrate on the basis of their unusual endings.

## AI Etymology
Chrysalis is from Latin chrysalis, variant of chrȳsallis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), usually derived from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold, golden”) + -αλλ- + -ις (-is, “-id: forming feminine nouns”) but compare θρυαλλίς (thruallís) and ἀρυβαλλίς (aruballís), both believed to come from a Pre-Greek substrate on the basis of their unusual endings. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include chrysalis (Latin) and χρυσαλλίς (Ancient Greek). Current senses include the hard case in which a caterpillar changes into a butterfly or moth and a stage or situation from which something develops into a new, better form. The wider family includes derived forms such as chrysalid, chrysaline, chrysalised, chrysalism, and chrysaloid.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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