Added 9 October 2026
chrysalis
/ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/ noun
Latin root: chrysalis Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about chrysalis at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A butterfly pupa or the pupal stage of the butterfly lifestyle; any pupal stage of any insect wherein the pupa is largely inactive and takes no food.
- The bare hanging cocoon of butterfly pupae; any cocoon.
- Any limiting environment or situation escaped during one's growth or development in the manner of a butterfly.
verb
- To form a chrysalis or cocoon.
- To metamorphize, to undergo metamorphosis, to transform.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)