/ ˈkætəpɪlə(r); NAmE -tərp-/ noun
a small creature like a worm with legs, that develops into a butterfly or moth (= flying insects with large, sometimes brightly coloured, wings). Caterpillars eat the leaves of plants.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : perhaps from a variant of Old French chatepelose , literally hairy cat, influenced by obsolete piller ravager . The association with “cat” is found in other languages, e.g. Swiss German Teufelskatz (literally devil's cat), Lombard (an Italian dialect spoken in northern Italy) gatta (literally cat). Compare with French chaton , English catkin , which resembles a hairy caterpillar.