pupa

[ pyoo-puh ]

/ ˈpyu pə /

noun, plural pu·pae [pyoo-pee] /ˈpyu pi/, pu·pas.

an insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile, transformation stage between the larva and the imago.

Nearby words

punxsutawney, puny, puo, pup, pup tent, pupa, puparium, pupate, pupation, pupfish, pupil

Origin of pupa

1765–70; < New Latin, special use of Latin pūpa girl, doll, puppet. See pupil¹, puppet

Related formspu·pal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pupa

It makes regular slave-raids upon the nests of the small brown ants, and carries off the young in their pupa condition.
Falling in Love|Grant Allen
In their wild journeyings on and on before spinning the pupa shroud, they fall victims in attempting to cross streams.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. VI, No. 3, October 1899|Various
Our cut (Fig. 28, a) also represents the pupa, or chrysalis, as seen lying in its cell.
Our Common Insects|Alpheus Spring Packard
The term is applied to the natural protective covering of seed-vessels, and of a pupa or chrysalis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 4|Various

Nototheca: that part of the pupa covering upper surface of abdomen.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology|John. B. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for pupa

pupa

/ (ˈpjuːpə) /

noun plural -pae (-piː) or -pas

an insect at the immobile nonfeeding stage of development between larva and adult, when many internal changes occurSee coarctate, exarate, obtect

Derived Formspupal, adjective

Word Origin for pupa

C19: via New Latin, from Latin: a doll, puppet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pupa

pupa

"post-larval stage of an insect," 1773, special use by Linnæus (1758) of Latin pupa "girl, doll, puppet" (see pupil (n.1)) on notion of "undeveloped creature." Related: Pupal; pupiform.

Science definitions for pupa

pupa

[ pyōō′pə ]

Plural pupae (pyōō′pē)

An insect in the nonfeeding stage of development between the larva and adult, during which it typically undergoes a complete transformation within a protective cocoon or hardened case. Only certain kinds of insects, such as moths, butterflies, ants, and beetles, develop as larvae and pupae. Compare imago larva nymph.