| a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly. |
| to deprive and make desolate, esp. by death usually fol. by of: |
"As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport." [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]Noun sense of "lascivious, lewd person" is attested from 1529. The verb is recorded from 1582. The only Eng. survival of a once-common Gmc. negating prefix still active in Du. (cf. wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), Ger. (wahn-), etc.