lar·va

[lahr-vuh]
noun, plural lar·vae [-vee] .
1.
Entomology. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis. See illus. under metamorphosis.
2.
any animal in an analogous immature form.
3.
the young of any invertebrate animal.
4.
larvae, Roman Antiquity. malignant ghosts, as lemures.
Origin:
1645–55; < Neo-Latin; special use of Latin larva a ghost, specter, mask, skeleton; akin to Lares

Can be confused: larva, lava.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
larva (ˈlɑːvə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -vae
an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis
 
[C18: (C17 in the original Latin sense: ghost): New Latin]
 
'larval
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

larva
1650s, "a ghost, specter," from L. larva (pl. larvae), earlier larua "ghost," also "mask;" applied in biological sense 1768 by Linnaeus because immature forms of insects "mask" the adult forms. On the double sense of the Latin word, Carlo Ginzburg, among other students of mythology and folklore, has
commented on "the well-nigh universal association between masks and the spirits of the dead."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

larva lar·va (lär'və)
n. pl. lar·vas or lar·vae (-vē)

  1. The newly hatched, wingless, often wormlike form of many insects before metamorphosis.

  2. The newly hatched, earliest stage of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in form and appearance from the adult.

lar'val adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
larva   (lär'və)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural larvae (lär'vē) or larvas

  1. An animal in an early stage of development that differs greatly in appearance from its adult stage. Larvae are adapted to a different environment and way of life from those of adults and go through a process of metamorphosis in changing to adults. Tadpoles are the larvae of frogs and toads.

  2. The immature, wingless, and usually wormlike feeding form of those insects that undergo three stages of metamorphosis, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Insect larvae hatch from eggs, later turn into pupae, and finally turn into adults. Compare imago, nymph, pupa.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Harvesters pluck the package-caterpillar larva and parasitic fungus-whole from
  the ground.
The larva pierces the spider's tough skin and sucks its blood for sustenance.
Its larva makes its home in the leaves of apple trees.
The tick typically first picks up the spirochete during its larva stage, when
  it needs a blood meal to mature further.
Images for larva
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