Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

pupa

[pyoo-puh]
See more synonyms for pupa on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural pu·pae [pyoo-pee] /ˈpyu pi/, pu·pas.
  1. an insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile, transformation stage between the larva and the imago.
Show More

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for pupae

Historical Examples

  • These are the chrysalids or pupae of the insect and later from them will come the millers.

    An Elementary Study of Insects

    Leonard Haseman

  • Larvae are very scarce; pupae abound, as do perfect insects.

  • Though they are not quite so numerous, there are also plenty of pupae.

  • How is the parasite's inroad into the flesh fly's pupae effected?

    The Life of the Fly

    J. Henri Fabre

  • I have gathered a number of pupae of the flesh fly in one of my vermin jars.

    The Life of the Fly

    J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for pupae

pupa

noun plural -pae (-piː) or -pas
  1. an insect at the immobile nonfeeding stage of development between larva and adult, when many internal changes occurSee coarctate, exarate, obtect
Show More
Derived Formspupal, adjective

Word Origin

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 pupae

pupa

n.

"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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pupae in Science

pupa

[pyōō′pə]
Plural pupae (pyōō′pē)
  1. 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.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.