caterpillar

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“
This caterpillar is the hickory shuck worm, the larva of a small moth.

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Definitions (28)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth.
  2. noun Any of various insect larvae similar to those of the butterfly or moth.
  3. Word History
    Larvae of moths and butterflies are popularly seen as resembling other, larger animals. Consider the Italian dialect word gatta, "cat, caterpillar”; the German dialect term tüfelskatz, "caterpillar” (literally "devil's cat”); the French word chenille, "caterpillar” (from a Vulgar Latin diminutive, *canīcula, of canis, "dog”); and last but not least, our own word caterpillar, which appears probably to have come from an unattested Old North French word *catepelose, meaning literally "hairy cat.” Our word caterpillar is first recorded in English in 1440 in the form catyrpel. Catyr, the first part of catyrpel, may indicate the existence of an English word *cater, meaning "tomcat,” otherwise attested only in caterwaul. Cater would be cognate with Middle High German kater and Dutch kater. The latter part of catyrpel seems to have become associated with the word piller, "plunderer.” By giving the variant spelling -ar, Johnson's Dictionary set the spelling caterpillar with which we are familiar today.

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Examples (50)

  • Or another analogy would be, a caterpillar has been turned into a butterfly. —  Peter Reinhart on bread
  • A line of traffic crawled behind them like a caterpillar, and two cars back cruised a black TransAm. —  Scottoline, Lisa - Mistaken Identity
  • Perhaps he realizes that it started life out as just a caterpillar, then went on to blossom into the beautiful creature it is now. —  One Chic Mama
  • Scientists at the Federal Rural University of Amazonia (UFRA) have found that planting a matrix of mahogany with cedar reduces the incidence of the Hypsipyla grandella caterpillar, a chief pest of mahogany that has doomed previous attempts to reforest with the valuable hardwood species. —  Mongabay.com News
  • Dr. Phil, Oprah, Fox news and a hookah smoking caterpillar are all solutions to our economic crisis. —  WBUR and NPR - On Point with Tom Ashbrook
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English catirpel, catirpeller, probably alteration of Old North French *catepelose : cate, cat (from Latin cattus) + pelose, hairy (from Latin pilōsus; see pilose).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English also caterpiller, caterpiler, from Middle English *caterpeler, found only once, in the abbreviation form catyrpel, from Old French *cattepeleure or a similar form represented by modern Guernsey dial. catte-pelaeure, a wood-louse, a weevil, otherwise by the assibilated forms Old French chatepelose, chatepelouse, chattepelouse, chatepeleuse, chattepelleuse, also chateplue, a caterpillar, also a weevil, a mite, modern dial. (Picard) capleuse, capeluche, caplure, carplure, (Norman) carplouse, (Breton) charpelouse; apparently (by popular etymology) ‘hairy cat’ (Old French *pelos, pelous, feminine pelouse, from Latin pilosus, hairy: see pilous), but prob. orig. ‘pill-cat,’ from Old French catte, assibilated chatte, modern F.chatte, feminine, a cat, + *peleure, pilleure, pilleuse (Palsgrave), French dial. pilure, pélure, a pill, from Latin pilula, later also English pill: ‘cat’ being a fanciful name applied to the caterpillar (cf. Italian dial. gatta, gattola, a caterpillar, from gatto, a cat; German dial. (Swiss) teufelskatz (literally devil's cat), a caterpillar; French chenille, a caterpillar (see chenille), from Latin canicula, a little dog), and ‘pill’ having reference to its rolling itself up in a little ball (cf. English pill-bug and pill-beetle).
 

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/ˈkætərpɪlər/
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