larva
noun /ˈlɑːvə/
/ˈlɑːrvə/
(plural larvae
/ˈlɑːviː/
/ˈlɑːrviː/
)- enlarge imagean insect at the stage when it has just come out of an egg and looks like a short fat worm compare nymph (2)Topics Insects, worms, etc.c2Oxford Collocations DictionaryLarva is used after these nouns:
- fly
- insect
- mosquito
- …
Word Originmid 17th cent. (denoting a disembodied spirit or ghost): from Latin, literally ‘ghost, mask’.