[chrys.a.lis] n, pl chry.sal.i.des or chrys.a.lis.es [L chrysallid-, chrysallis gold-colored pupa of butterflies, fr. Gk, fr. chrysos gold, of Sem origin; akin to Heb harus gold] (1601) 1: a pupa of a butterfly; broadly: an insect pupa
2: a protecting covering: a sheltered state or stage of being or growth "a budding writer could not emerge from his ~ too soon --William Du Bois"