larva | lārŭa (noun F) : (ante-class. as trisyl. ), , 2. lar
* A ghost, spectre: larvae stimulant virum,Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 66: amator qui me et uxorem ludificatust larva,id. Cas. 3, 4, 2; id. Aul. 4, 4, 15: cum mortuis non nisi larvas luctari, Plin. praef. H. N. § 31.—As a term of reproach, hobgoblin, scarecrow: etiam loquere larŭa?Plaut. Merc. 5, 4, 20: nam haec quidem edepol larvarum plenast,possessed,id. Am. 2, 2, 145.
* Transf.
* A mask (cf. persona): nil illi larva et tragicis opus esse cothurnis,Hor. S. 1, 5, 64.
* A skeleton, Petr. 34, 8.