(kătˈər-pĭlˌər, kătˈə-)
noun- The wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth.
- Any of various insect larvae similar to those of the butterfly or moth.
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.
