chrys·a·lis (krs-ls) n., pl. chrys·a·lis·es or chry·sal·i·des (kr-sl-dz). A pupa, especially of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or cocoon. [Latin chrsallis, from Greek khrusallis, khrusallid- gold-colored pupa of a butterfly, from khrus-, chryso-.] Word History: “All that is gold does not glitter” we may say when confronted with khrus- or khruso-, the combining form of the Greek word khrusos, “gold.” We find this form, for example, in the Greek word khrusallis, “chrysalis,” which refers specifically to a gold-colored pupa. This Greek word gave us our chrysalis, first recorded in English in the 17th century. As Modern English chrys- or chryso- the Greek form khrus- or khruso- has also been used to make words that did not exist in Greek. Among the more interesting of these are chrysocracy, “rule of the wealthy,” and chrysotherapy, “the treatment of disease with gold compounds.”