English → Latin
“caterpillar” in Latin
ērūcacaterpillar; colewort, rocketlīberōto free, set free, liberate; to release, deliver; to absolve, acquit
The English word caterpillar itself goes back to Latin pilus, through catta.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
caterpillar
eruca (Greek κάμπη, which is used as a Latin word by poets and late writers). To destroy caterpillars, erucas evincere: to clear trees of caterpillars, *arbores erucis purgare or liberare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for caterpillar?
- The usual Latin words for “caterpillar” are ērūca, līberō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.