The definition of a pupa is the cocoon stage an insect goes through after the larval form and before the final form of the adult.
(noun)An example of a pupa is a caterpillar being enclosed in a cocoon.
See pupa in Webster's New World College Dictionary
Origin: ModL: so named by Carolus Linnaeus < L, girl, doll, prob. < IE *pup- < base *pu-, to swell up, inflate
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See pupa in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun pl. pu·pae (-pē) or pu·pas
Origin:
Origin: Latin pūpa, girl, doll
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