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Crawler vs Caterpillar - What's the difference?

crawler | caterpillar |

As nouns the difference between crawler and caterpillar

is that crawler is (australia|obsolete) a person who is abused, physically or verbally, and returns to the abuser a supplicant or crawler can be a child who is able to creep using his hands and knees but is not able to walk while caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.

crawler

English

Etymology 1

From . From the Australian convict period (1788-1850); a prisoner who was purposely and extensively abused by an overseer (also a convict) and thereby driven to escape but finding it impossible to survive in the Australian bush, surrender to this overseer who would then have his penal term reduced. The particular crawler was picked for his weak personality and might escape and return a number of times increasing his own penal term each time. According to James Tucker, some convict overseers had their sentences extensively reduced using this odious practice. Source-James Tucker's 1845 novel Ralph Rashleigh.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (Australia, obsolete) A person who is abused, physically or verbally, and returns to the abuser a supplicant.
  • (UK, Australia, slang) A sycophant.
  • Etymology 2

    From .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A child who is able to creep using his hands and knees but is not able to walk.
  • (sports) A crawl swimmer.
  • A tractor crawler, a motorized vehicle that uses caterpillar tracks instead of wheels.
  • A software bot that autonomously follows connected paths such as webpage links.
  • Derived terms
    * church crawler * kerb crawler/kerb-crawler * dungeon crawler * pub crawler

    caterpillar

    Alternative forms

    * caterpiller (archaic)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.
  • The bird just ate that green caterpillar .
  • A vehicle with a caterpillar track; a crawler.
  • Synonyms
    * (moth or butterfly larva)
    Derived terms
    * caterpillar catcher * caterpillar eater * caterpillar hunter * caterpillar track * tent caterpillar

    See also

    * pillar