English
pupa
Pupa comes from Latin pūpa ‘little girl’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-‘few, little’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpa‘little girl’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959pupa
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-‘few, little’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpa‘little girl’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959pupa
Earliest quotation: 1959, Walt Kelly, Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: “The public is the pupae of the purposely purblind…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’
few, poor, fewer, pose, pause, puppy, pediatrics, filly, pedagogy, pave, orthopedics, menopausal, paucity, posada, puerile, 31 more
through Latin pūpa ‘little girl’
Today it means
noun An insect in the development stage between larva and adult.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- / pupa