pupa
pupa Lexical Profile
pupa Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An insect in its inactive, non-feeding immature stage of development between the larva and the adult (imago), during which it typically undergoes complete metamorphosis inside a protective cocoon, case, or chrysalis.
"After spinning a silk cocoon around itself, the caterpillar transforms into a pupa and emerges weeks later as an adult moth."
Any of various small air-breathing land snails of the family Pupillidae (formerly placed in the genus Pupa), characterized by a cylindrical or ovate, multi-whorled shell that resembles an insect pupa in shape.
Word Nuance & Usage
The plural of 'pupa' can be either the Latinate 'pupae' (most common in scientific contexts) or the regularized 'pupas'.
• Rhymes for pupa
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 18th century from New Latin pupa, adopted by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus from Latin pupa ('girl, doll, puppet') because the encased, immobile insect resembles a swaddled infant or doll.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.