What does "instar" mean?

Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity.

What is a synonym for "instar"?

Common synonyms include: growth stage, instar stage, juvenile stage, larval stage, stage label.

/ˈɪnstɑɹ/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity.
2
an insect or other arthropod between molts wordnet
3
An arthropod at a specified one of these stages of development.
"In A. orientalis, first and second instars were more susceptible than third instars to H. bacteriophora TF strain, […]"
4
A stage in development. broadly
"We avoided Tourist Homes, country cousins of Funeral ones, old-fashioned, genteel and showerless, with elaborate dressing tables in depressingly white-and-pink little bedrooms, and photographs of the landlady’s children in all their instars."

Verb

1
To stud or adorn with stars or other brilliants; to star. archaic, transitive
"Yet mark with shining steps the humbler way; And, as angelic feet instar the sky, Drop the bright sparks along the wilderness."
2
To make a star of; set as a star. transitive

"In A. orientalis, first and second instars were more susceptible than third instars to H. bacteriophora TF strain, […]"

Etymology 1

From Latin instar (“form, likeness”), which is of obscure origin.

Etymology 2

From in- + star.