larva
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lar·va
(lär′və)n. pl. lar·vae (-vē) or lar·vas
1.
a. The newly hatched, wingless, often wormlike form of many insects, developing into a pupa in species that undergo complete metamorphosis.
b. The six-legged immature form of a tick or mite.
2. The newly hatched, earliest form of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in appearance from the adult.
3. Roman Mythology A malevolent spirit of the dead.
[Latin lārva, specter, mask (because it acts as a specter of or a mask for the adult form).]
lar′val adj.
Word History: The word larva referring to the newly hatched form of insects before they undergo metamorphosis comes from the Latin word lārva, meaning "evil spirit, ghost, demon." The Latin word also was used to mean "a terrifying mask," such as one that might have been worn by a Roman performer in the role of such an evil spirit. In the 1600s and 1700s, scientists began to use the Latin word to describe the stage in an insect's life during which its final form is still hidden—the larval stage is a mask, so to speak, that the insect will later remove to reveal its adult appearance.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
larva
(ˈlɑːvə)n, pl -vae (-viː)
(Zoology) an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis
[C18: (C17 in the original Latin sense: ghost): New Latin]
ˈlarval adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
lar•va
(ˈlɑr və)n., pl. -vae (-vi)
1. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.
2. any animal in an analogous immature form.
3. the young of any invertebrate animal.
lar′val, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
lar·va
(lär′və) Plural larvae (lär′vē) or larvas
1. An animal in an early stage of development that differs greatly in appearance from its adult stage. Larvae are adapted to a different environment and way of life than adults and go through a process of metamorphosis in changing to adults. Tadpoles are the larvae of frogs and toads.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  larva - the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphoseanimal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement ascidian tadpole - free-swimming larva of ascidians; they have a tail like a tadpole that contains the notochord bladder worm - encysted saclike larva of the tapeworm cercaria - tadpole-shaped parasitic larva of a trematode worm; tail disappears in adult stage wireworm - wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles; feeds on roots of many crop plants mealworm - the larva of beetles of the family Tenebrionidae aphid lion, aphis lion - carnivorous larva of lacewing flies dobson, hellgrammiate - large brown aquatic larva of the dobsonfly; used as fishing bait caseworm - insect larva that constructs a protective case around its body caterpillar - a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth nymph - a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly) leptocephalus - slender transparent larva of eels and certain fishes bot - botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human grub - a soft thick wormlike larva of certain beetles and other insects |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يَرَقانَه
larva
larve
toukka
lirfa
larva
kūniņa
larv
kurtçuklârva
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
larva
n pl <-e> → Larve f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
larva
(ˈlaːvə) – plural ˈlarvae (-viː) – noun a developing insect in its first stage after coming out of the egg; a grub or caterpillar.
ˈlarval adjectiveKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.