cocoon

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun silky envelope spun by the larvae of many insects to protect pupas and by spiders to protect eggs
verb retreat as if into a cocoon, as from an unfriendly environment
verb wrap in or as if in a cocoon, as for protection

From French cocon, diminutive of coque (“shell”).

Sometimes these towering upheavals of forestry were festooned and garlanded with vine-cables, and sometimes the masses of undergrowth were cocooned in another sort of vine of a delicate cobwebby texture—they call it the “supplejack,” I think. — Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World, Mark Twain

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