Caterpillar has a fascinating etymology. According to
Jardine, the English word is apparently a combination (by
folk etymology) of
cates, food (archaic English meaning choice food, or delicacies, from French
acater to buy), and French
piller, to rob. The original Old French word was
chattepeleuse, a hairy cat. The French word is from Latin
cattus cat, plus
pilosus hairy
(1). (Partridge, in
Origins--A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, gives the Old French as
cate plue, variant
catepelose.)
