I. kəˈkün also ku̇ˈk- or sometimes especially Brit käˈk- noun
( -s )
Etymology: French cocon, from Provençal coucoun cocoon, eggshell, from coco shell, from Latin coccum excrescence on a tree — more at coak
1.
a. : the envelope often composed largely of silk which the larvae of many insects form about themselves previous to changing to a pupa and in which they pass the pupa stage, those of silkworms being the source of the silk of commerce
b. : any of various other protective coverings produced by animals (as the cases of silk made by spiders or the egg cases of mucus secreted by leeches and earthworms)
2. : any covering resembling or suggesting a cocoon
soon we two old fellows were stuffed into a tight cocoon of buffalo robes — Austin Strong
specifically : a long-term protective covering usually plastic placed or sprayed over a gun or other military or naval equipment in storage
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to form a cocoon
transitive verb
1. : to wrap or envelop especially tightly as if in a cocoon
cocooned in several layers of shawls and scarves — Time
the aircraft having been cocooned at the United States Navy base — Crowsnest
2. : to fit into or enclose in especially snugly as if in a cocoon
once having cocooned myself in Quongdong, I could never pluck up enough courage to go forth — Rex Ingamells
a sense of … being in a steel box packed against another steel box, inhumanly cocooned, came over her — William Sansom