Definition of "imago" [‖I•ma•go]

• An insect in its sexually mature adult stage after metamorphosis. (noun)
• Psychology An often idealized image of a person, usually a parent, formed in childhood and persisting unconsciously into adulthood. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In psychoanalysis, the term imago is an unconscious prototype of personae, the imago determines the way in which the subject apprehends others."
• "Certain cells, called imago cells, which served absolutely no purpose in the caterpillar's life up to now, suddenly kick in and take over."
• "Their rudiments appear in the embryo, often at a very early stage; they are recognisable in the larva, and the matured structures in the imago are the result of their slow process of growth, the details of which must be reckoned beyond the scope of this book."