chrysalis
Americannoun
plural
chrysalises, chrysalidesnoun
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the obtect pupa of a moth or butterfly
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anything in the process of developing
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The pupa of certain kinds of insects, especially of moths and butterflies, that is inactive and enclosed in a firm case or cocoon from which the adult eventually emerges.
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The case or cocoon of a chrysalis.
Etymology
Origin of chrysalis
1650–60; < Latin chrȳsalis < Greek chrȳsallís, equivalent to chrȳs- chrys- + -allis suffix, probably with diminutive value
Explanation
A chrysalis is the form a caterpillar takes before it emerges from its cocoon as a fully formed moth or butterfly. The chrysalis has hard skin that's left behind after the caterpillar sheds its soft outer skin. Besides forming itself into a chrysalis, a caterpillar is also able to spin a kind of sticky silk for attaching itself to a branch or leaf. The often gold-colored chrysalis stays attached while undergoing further transformation toward becoming a butterfly. Chrysalis comes from the Greek khrysallis, "golden pupa of the butterfly," from khrysos, "gold."
Vocabulary lists containing chrysalis
Matilda
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They Call Me Güero
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Ronald Reagan's Address at Moscow State University (1988)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
ABC7’s on scene video shows the work van had a logo on it for Chrysalis, a nonprofit that provides job-readiness programs to assist low-income and unhoused people in finding employment.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2024
In a joint statement to Variety, O’Connor’s estate and label Chrysalis Records said that throughout her life, O’Connor “lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings.”
From Salon • Mar. 4, 2024
The music industry is perfectly able to adapt, he reckons, and his own label Blue Raincoat Music, which bought Chrysalis Records, will work with AI and the opportunities it brings.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2023
The lost moon, which they call Chrysalis, may also help explain the evolution of Saturn’s oddly tilted axis of rotation.
From Science Magazine • Sep. 14, 2022
"A Chrysalis" is a favourite poem with John Burroughs, and is found, too, in Stedman's collection.
From Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library by Burt, Mary E. (Mary Elizabeth)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
