cocoon

«cocoon» in Mova's school dictionary: a silky case that some insect larvae, like moths and… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a cocoon, cocoons); verb (cocoon, cocoons, cocooned, cocooning)

meaning for a pupil

1) A cocoon is a silky case that some insect larvae, like moths and silkworms, spin around themselves to change into adults. tree →

2) A cocoon is any soft, warm, safe covering that wraps around someone: «a cocoon of blankets». tree →

3) To cocoon someone is to wrap them up or protect them from the world. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons on life cycles, a caterpillar becomes a pupa inside a cocoon (moths) or a chrysalis (butterflies), then comes out as an adult — this is metamorphosis. Silk comes from silkworm cocoons. In stories, a character cocooned in a sleeping bag feels safe. Phrases: «spin a cocoon», «come out of the cocoon», «a cocoon of blankets».

examples

• The caterpillar spun a cocoon on the branch. tree →
• A moth came out of the cocoon. tree →
• Silk is made from silkworm cocoons. tree →
• I was cocooned in my sleeping bag. tree →
• Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar changes completely. tree →
• The baby was cocooned in a soft blanket. tree →
• Butterflies make a chrysalis, not a cocoon. tree →
• Don't open a cocoon; let the insect come out by itself. tree →

note

Spelling: cocoon (double o twice: c-o-c-o-o-n). Science trap: moths make silky cocoons; butterflies form a hard chrysalis. People often mix these up.

In the corpora

• A moth's caterpillar often makes a silk cocoon before it changes, but a butterfly's caterpillar makes a bare chrysalis.
• The Chinese learned to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms that eat mulberry leaves, and kept the method secret for centuries.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cocoon» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.