larva-attracting
|lar-va-at-trac-ting|
🇺🇸
/ˈlɑrvə əˈtræktɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈlɑːvə əˈtræktɪŋ/
draws larvae
Etymology
'larva-attracting' is a modern English compound formed from the noun 'larva' + the present participle 'attracting', used to describe something that draws larvae.
'larva' was borrowed into English from Latin 'larva' (originally meaning 'ghost' or 'mask') and took on the biological sense of an immature insect stage by the 17th century; 'attract' comes from Latin 'attrahere' (via Old French) meaning 'to draw toward'; the compound itself is a recent formation in scientific/technical English.
Initially 'larva' in Latin meant 'ghost' or 'mask', but in modern biology it means 'an immature form of an animal, especially an insect'; 'attract' originally meant 'to draw toward' and retains that core sense; together the compound now specifically denotes drawing or tending to draw larvae.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a substance, scent, or feature that attracts larvae; (noun form derived from the adjective).
Researchers identified a larva attractant in the plant's nectar.
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Adjective 1
having a quality, scent, or characteristic that tends to attract larvae (the immature forms of certain insects or other animals).
The wet, decaying fruit gave off a larva-attracting odor.
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Last updated: 2025/10/13 00:34