English
cocoon
Cocoon comes from French cocon, from coque ‘shell’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κόκκος ‘grain, seed, berry’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόκκοςkókkos‘grain, seed, berry’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoccum‘berry’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coque‘shell’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcoque‘shell’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcocondiminutive of coque
- Englishearliest quotation 1997cocoon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόκκοςkókkos‘grain, seed, berry’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoccum‘berry’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coque‘shell’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcoque‘shell’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentcocondiminutive of coque
- Englishearliest quotation 1997cocoon
Earliest quotation: 1997, Robert Dart, CTA To Leave Train Conductors At The Station: “The bad guys generally don’t like to get on…”
Linked words
through Old French coque ‘shell’
Today it means
noun The silky case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, protecting the pupa within.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek κόκκος / cocoon