Subimagines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Mentally forms lower or subsidiary images or representations ; conjures up lesser visualizations or imaginative constructs
2. Generates secondary mental pictures or conceptualizations ; envisions subordinate impressions or depictions internally
3. Creates within the mind alternative or supporting images ; produces reduced or ancillary mental visions or ideas

Etymology: "Subimagines" is the plural of "subimago," a term for the winged stage of an insect, such as a mayfly, that emerges from the aquatic nymph and must molt once more before becoming a fully mature adult. The word is built from the Latin prefix "sub-," meaning "under" or "close to," and "imago," meaning "image" or "likeness," which in entomology came to denote the adult insect. The compound was formed after the German "Subimago," so its shape reflects a German scientific coinage rather than an ancient or traditional English term. The sense here is "almost-adult": the subimago looks like an adult in most respects but is not yet sexually mature and cannot reproduce. Its wings are typically dull and its body less developed, which explains why the prefix signals a stage just below the full imago. The plural "subimagines" follows the Latin pattern of "imago," whose plural is "imagines." The Latin plural ending was retained when the term was adopted into English entomological vocabulary.

Synonyms: subimagos, intermediate forms, immature insects, pre-adults