pupa

C2 Topic:Animals
US /ˈpjuːpə/ UK /ˈpjuːpə/
noun Freq #54328

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an insect in the inactive stage between larva and adult

    Inside the pupa, the caterpillar changes into a moth.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · an insect in the inactive... chrysalispupe
Opposites
Word family
Forms pupal
Derived forms pupaepupalpupate
Related forms larvametamorphosisinsect

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin pupa, from Latin pupa, "girl, doll, puppet." The scientific term likens the enclosed inactive insect stage to a wrapped little figure.

Topics

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