cocoon English · revision 2469

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈkuːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|cocon]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) [[der|oc|coucoun|t=eggshell]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a diminutive of ''coco'' “shell”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) probably [[der|la|coccum|t=berry, oak gall, kermes]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) [[der|grc|κόκκος|tr=kókkos|t=seed, berry]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The silky case spun by the larvae of many insects to cover them during the chrysalis stage (1690s).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 1880s the noun was used for similar structures made by other animals,^(OED 1989) and figuratively from 1865.^(OED 1989) The verb is recorded in 1850 for insects forming a cocoon,^(Etymonline) and later for wrapping a person snugly (1873–1881).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) After the Second World War ''cocoon'' also named a protective plastic coating sprayed over stored military equipment.^(OED 1989)^(AHD) In 1986 the verb took on the sense “to stay at home, retreating from the world”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1679 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1699 – the silky case of an insect larva.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1850 – verb, to form a cocoon.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – verb, to swathe as in a cocoon.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1948 – a protective coating for stored equipment.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1986 – staying at home, retreating from the outside world (''cocooning'').^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The silky case in which an insect larva passes its pupal stage.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A similar protective covering, such as a spider's egg case.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something that protects or isolates like a cocoon.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A protective plastic coating over stored military or naval equipment.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To wrap in or as if in a cocoon.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To retreat as if into a cocoon, away from the outside world.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cocoonlike]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}