# caterpillar

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkætəˌpɪlə/ · frequency rank #17,563

## Definitions
1. The larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.
2. A vehicle with a caterpillar track; a crawler.
3. A set of subtrees of a tree.
4. A rapacious, extortionate person preying upon the community.

## 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”).

## Common misspellings (15)
`acterpillar`, `caetrpillar`, `cateprillar`, `cateripllar`, `caterpilalr`, `caterpilar`, `caterpillarr`, `caterpillra`, `caterplilar`, `caterppillar`, `caterrpillar`, `catrepillar`, `catterpillar`, `ccaterpillar`, `ctaerpillar`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/caterpillar