释义 |
lar·va \ˈlärvə, ˈlȧvə\ noun (plural lar·vae \-(ˌ)vē, -ˌvī\ ; also larvas) Etymology: Latin, evil spirit, specter, mask; akin to Latin lar tutelary god, lar and perhaps to Latin lascivus wanton — more at lust 1. a. obsolete : a disembodied spirit : ghost b. : an ancient Roman specter or apparition; especially : a malevolent spirit c. : a supernatural monster — used chiefly in medieval occultism 2. [New Latin, from Latin] a. : the immature, wingless, and often vermiform feeding form that hatches from the egg of a holometabolous insect, increases in size, undergoes other minor changes while passing through several molts, and is finally transformed into a pupa or chrysalis from which the adult ultimately emerges — see caterpillar, grub, maggot b. : nymph 3 c. : the early form of any animal that at birth or hatching is fundamentally unlike its parent and must pass through more or less of a metamorphosis before assuming the adult characters — used of later states than embryo |