caterpillar
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
caterpillar/ˈkatəpɪlə(r)/
▶noun
- 1 the larva of a butterfly or moth.
- 2 (also caterpillar track or tread) trademark an articulated steel band passing round the wheels of a vehicle for travel on rough ground.
– origin ME: perh. from a var. of OFr. chatepelose, lit. ‘hairy cat’, influenced by obs. piller ‘ravager’.
'caterpillar' also found in these Oxford entries:
bagworm
- bollworm
- budworm
- bulldozer
- cankerworm
- chenille
- crawler
- cutworm
- death's head hawkmoth
- drinker
- geometer
- goat moth
- grass ski
- grub
- half-track
- hornworm
- larva
- lobster moth
- looper
- proleg
- silk moth
- silkworm
- skimobile
- snowcat
- snowmobile
- tent caterpillar
- tiger moth
- webworm
- woolly bear
