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chrysalis.

A butterfly pupa or the pupal stage of the butterfly lifestyle; (originally) any pupal stage of any insect wherein the pupa is largely inactive and takes no food.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/
  1. A butterfly pupa or the pupal stage of the butterfly lifestyle; (originally) any pupal stage of any insect wherein the pupa is largely inactive and takes no food.

  2. The bare hanging cocoon of butterfly pupae; (originally) any cocoon.

  3. Any limiting environment or situation escaped during one's growth or development in the manner of a butterfly.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

From Latin chrysalis, variant of chrȳsallis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), usually derived from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold, golden”) + -αλλ- + -ις (-is, “-id: forming feminine nouns”) but compare θρυαλλίς (thruallís) and ἀρυβαλλίς (aruballís), both believed to come from a Pre-Greek substrate on the basis of their unusual endings.

verb/ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/
  1. To form a chrysalis or cocoon.

    intransitive
  2. To metamorphize, to undergo metamorphosis, to transform.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Latin chrysalis, variant of chrȳsallis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), usually derived from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold, golden”) + -αλλ- + -ις (-is, “-id: forming feminine nouns”) but compare θρυαλλίς (thruallís) and ἀρυβαλλίς (aruballís), both believed to come from a Pre-Greek substrate on the basis of their unusual endings.

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.