caterpillar

English

A caterpillar—the larva of a butterfly or moth.

A vehicle with a caterpillar track

Alternative forms

• caterpiller (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English catirpel, catirpeller, probably from Old Northern French catepeluse (Modern French chatte + pileuse (“hairy cat”)), from Late Latin catta + pilōsa. The sense "rapacious, extortionate person" arose by association with obsolete piller (“plunderer”). See Modern Norman cattepeleuse. Displaced native kaleworm, from Middle English cowle worm, cale worme (“caterpillar, corn weevil”), from Old English cawelwyrm, cawelwurm (“caterpillar”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkætəˌpɪlə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkætɚˌpɪlɚ/, /ˈkætəˌpɪlɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

caterpillar (plural caterpillars)

2. The larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.

   The bird just ate that green caterpillar.

   • 2003, Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, Virago Press (2013), page 46:

     A caterpillar is letting itself down on a thread, twirling slowly like a rope artist, spiralling towards his chest. It’s a luscious, unreal green, like a gumdrop, and covered with tiny bright hairs.

3. A vehicle with a caterpillar track; a crawler.
4. (mathematics) A set of subtrees of a tree.
5. (obsolete) A rapacious, extortionate person preying upon the community.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 33:

     Bristow Castle, which they say is held
     By Busbie, Bagot, and their Complices,
     The Caterpillers of the Commonwealth,
     Which I haue sworne to weed, and plucke away.

Derived terms

• alfalfa caterpillar
• caterpillar catcher
• Caterpillar Club
• caterpillar eater
• caterpillared
• caterpillar fungus
• caterpillar hunter
• caterpillarization
• caterpillarize
• caterpillarlike
• caterpillar roll
• caterpillar searcher
• caterpillar skiing
• caterpillar track
• caterpillar tree
• Christmas caterpillar
• eastern tent caterpillar
• forest caterpillar hunter
• hog caterpillar
• looper caterpillar
• monarch caterpillar
• Polyphemus caterpillar
• processionary caterpillar
• pseudocaterpillar
• puss caterpillar
• red-humped caterpillar
• saddleback caterpillar
• salt-marsh caterpillar
• sea caterpillar
• slug caterpillar
• tent caterpillar
• vegetable caterpillar
• woolly bear caterpillar
• zebra caterpillar

Translations

larva of a butterfly or moth

• Adyghe: пкӏэшъэхъу (pkʼɛŝɛꭓʷu)
• Afrikaans: ruspe (af)
• Albanian: zek, vemje (sq) f
• Arabic: يَرَقَة f (yaraqa), دُودَة الْفَرَاشَة f (dūdat al-farāša)

  Hijazi Arabic: يَرَقَة f (yaraga)

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܡܫܘܛܐ m (māšōṭā)

• Armenian: թրթուր (hy) (tʻrtʻur)
• Assamese: পলু (polu), বিছা (bisa)
• Aymara: laqatu (ay)
• Azerbaijani: tırtıl (az)
• Banjarese: hulat
• Basque: har, beldar
• Belarusian: ву́сень m (vúsjenʹ)
• Bengali: শুঁয়াপোকা (bn) (śũẏapōka)
• Bulgarian: гъсе́ница (bg) f (gǎsénica)
• Burmese: ပိုးတောင့်တဲ (my) (pui:taung.tai:)
• Catalan: eruga (ca) f
• Cebuano: til-as
• Cherokee: ᏍᎪᏯ ᎠᏁᏍᎩᎸᎥᏍᎩ (sgoya anesgilvvsgi)
• Chichewa: mbozi
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 毛毛蟲 / 毛毛虫 (mou⁴ mou⁴ cung⁴), 毛蟲 / 毛虫 (mou⁴ cung⁴)

  Mandarin: 毛毛蟲 / 毛毛虫 (zh) (máomáochóng), 毛蟲 / 毛虫 (zh) (máochóng)

• Chuukese: muun
• Chuvash: лӗпӗш хурчӗ (lĕp̬ĕš hurč̬ĕ)
• Cornish: pryv del m, kath vlewek f (hairy)
• Czech: housenka (cs) f
• Danish: larve c, kålorm c
• Dutch: rups (nl) f
• Esperanto: raŭpo (eo)
• Estonian: tõuk (et), röövik
• Faroese: ormvera f
• Finnish: perhostoukka (fi)
• French: chenille (fr) f
• Friulian: ruie f
• Galician: eiruga (gl) f, burgo m
• Georgian: მუხლუხი (muxluxi)
• German: Raupe (de) f
• Greek: κάμπια (el) f (kámpia)

  Ancient Greek: κάμπη f (kámpē)

• Gujarati: ઇયળ f (iyaḷ)
• Haitian Creole: chini
• Hebrew: זַחַל (he) m (zakhal)
• Hindi: इल्ली (hi) f (illī), पोका (hi) m (pokā)
• Hungarian: hernyó (hu)
• Icelandic: lirfa (is)
• Ido: raupo (io)
• Indonesian: ulat bulu, ulat (id)
• Ingrian: puutoukka
• Irish: bolb m
• Italian: bruco (it) m
• Japanese: 毛虫 (ja) (けむし, kemushi) (hairy), 芋虫 (ja) (いもむし, imomushi) (hairless)
• Jarai: hlăt
• Javanese: uler (jv)
• Kannada: ಕಂಬಳಿಹುಳ (kn) (kambaḷihuḷa)
• Karen:

  S'gaw Karen: သံ (thee)

• Kazakh: жұлдызқұрт (jūldyzqūrt), қырықбуын (qyryqbuyn)
• Khmer: ក្រា (km) (kraa), ដង្កូវ (km) (dɑngkəw)
• Kikuyu: kĩgunyũ class 7, kĩgunyarĩrĩ class 7 (hairy one)
• Korean: 모충(毛蟲) (mochung), 애벌레 (ko) (aebeolle)
• Kyrgyz: көпөлөк курту (köpölök kurtu), малак (malak)
• Lak: янначчуччу (aˤnnač:uč:u)
• Lao: ໂຕດ້ວງ (tō dūang), ຕົວບົ້ງ (tūa bong), ບຸ້ງ (bung), ດ້ວງ (dūang)
• Latin: ērūca f, ūrīca f, campē f, (Late) dolba f
• Latvian: kāpurs m
• Limburgish: roeps (li) m
• Lingala: mombínzó
• Lithuanian: vikšras m
• Low German: Ruup (nds) f

  Dutch Low Saxon: Riepse f

• Lower Tanana: ch'et'on' gugha'
• Lutuv: ziyziypa
• Luxembourgish: Raup m
• Macedonian: гасеница f (gasenica)
• Malagasy: fanday (mg)
• Malay: beluncas

  Brunei Malay: ulat bulu, giuk bulu

• Malayalam: കമ്പിളിപ്പുഴു (ml) (kampiḷippuḻu), ശലഭപ്പുഴു (śalabhappuḻu)
• Maltese: xagħat m
• Manchu: ᠯᡠᡴᡠ (luku)
• Manx: braddag m
• Māori: torongū, tōtorongū, whē, mokamoka, torongū
• Marathi: अळी (aḷī)
• Mi'kmaq: engejit anim
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: төөлүүр хорхой (töölüür xorxoj), жаран хөлт (žaran xölt)

• Navajo: wódítłʼooí, chʼosh ditłʼooí, wóshiiyishí (if not hairy)
• Norman: (Jersey) carpéleuse f, (Guernsey) catte f, (Continental Normandy) carpélouose f, (Sark) katpwölör f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: larve (no) m

• Occitan: eruga (oc) f
• Old English: trēowwyrm m
• Pannonian Rusyn: гушенїца f (hušenjica)
• Persian: کرم صدپا (kerm-e sadpâ)
• Picard: carplute m
• Plautdietsch: Krupa m
• Polish: gąsienica (pl) f, licha f, liszka (pl) f
• Portuguese: lagarta (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਸੁੰਡ (pa) m (suṇḍ), ਸੁੰਡੀ (pa) f (suṇḍī)
• Quechua: sika, kuru
• Romanian: omidă (ro) f
• Romansh: rasulauna f
• Russian: гу́сеница (ru) f (gúsenica)
• Sardinian: ruga f
• Scots: oobit
• Scottish Gaelic: burras (gd) m, bratag (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гу̏сеница f, (Ijekavian) гу̏сјеница f

  Latin: gȕsenica (sh) f, (Ekavian) gȕsjenica (sh) f

• Sicilian: campa (scn) f, papici m
• Slovak: húsenica (sk) f
• Slovene: gosenica (sl) f
• Spanish: oruga (es) f, cuncuna (es) f (Chile), convólvulo (es) m, revoltón m, teña f (rural)
• Sundanese: hileud (su)
• Swahili: kiwavi (sw) class 7/8
• Swedish: fjärilslarv c, mallarv c (of a moth specifically)
• Tajik: кирмак (kirmak)
• Tamil: கம்பளிப்பூச்சி (ta) (kampaḷippūcci)
• Telugu: గొంగళిపురుగు (te) (goṅgaḷipurugu)
• Thai: หนอนผีเสื้อ (nɔ̌ɔn pǐi-sʉ̂ʉa), ด้วง (th) (dûuang), บุ้ง (th) (bûng) (especially hairy), ร่าน (th) (râan)
• Tibetan: འབུ་སྤུ་ཟོག ('bu spu zog)
• Tumbuka: mbungu class 9
• Turkish: tırtıl (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: طرتیل (tırtıl)

• Turkmen: gurçuk
• Udi: тыртыр (tərtər)
• Ukrainian: гу́сениця f (húsenycja), гу́сінь f (húsinʹ)
• Unami: samhuwe
• Urdu: سنڈی f (sunḍī), پوکا m (pokā)
• Uyghur: تۈكلۈك قۇرت (tüklük qurt)
• Uzbek: qurt (uz), kapalak qurti
• Vietnamese: sâu (vi), sâu róm (vi), sâu bướm
• Vilamovian: raojp f
• Volapük: jönul (vo), (diminutive) jönulil
• Walloon: halene (wa) f
• Welsh: lindysyn m, Siani flewog f (hairy)
• Yiddish: שלייערל f (shleyerl), ^{(please verify)} רויפּע f (roype)
• Yoruba: wùkúwùkú
• Zazaki: kermık

vehicle with a caterpillar track

• Bulgarian: вери́жен автомоби́л m (verížen avtomobíl)
• Catalan: eruga (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 履帶式車輛 / 履带式车辆 (lǚdàishì chēliàng)

• Esperanto: ĉenbendo, raŭpo (eo)
• Finnish: telaketjutraktori, (informally) katepillari
• German: Raupe (de) f, Raupenfahrzeug (de) n
• Greek: ερπυστριοφόρος ελκυστήρας m (erpystriofóros elkystíras)
• Hungarian: hernyótalpas traktor, lánctalpas jármű
• Japanese: キャタピラ (ja) (kyatapira), 無限軌道 (ja) (むげんきどう, mugen kidō)
• Macedonian: гасеничар m (gaseničar)
• Pannonian Rusyn: гушенїцар m (hušenjicar)
• Polish: pojazd gąsienicowy m
• Portuguese: veículo com lagartas m
• Romanian: șenilă (ro) f
• Russian: гу́сеничный тра́ктор m (gúseničnyj tráktor)
• Spanish: oruga (es) f, tractor de oruga m
• Swahili: katapila
• Swedish: caterpillar (sv) c
• Turkish: paletli (tr)
• Yoruba: katakata

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} kiwavi (sw) (nc 7/8)

Verb

caterpillar (third-person singular simple present caterpillars, present participle caterpillaring, simple past and past participle caterpillared)

1. (intransitive) To move along slowly, drawing one's body up, in the manner of a caterpillar.

See also

• pillar

Swedish

Noun

caterpillar c

1. A vehicle with caterpillar track

   Synonym: bandfordon

Declension

Declension of caterpillar

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	caterpillar	caterpillars
	definite	caterpillarn	caterpillarns
plural	indefinite	caterpillrar	caterpillrars
	definite	caterpillrarna	caterpillrarnas

References

• caterpillar in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• caterpillar in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)