butterfly
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butterfly
- /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/
- [ˈbʌ.tʰə.flaɪ̯] UK
- [ˈbʌ.ɾɚ.flaɪ̯] Canada, US
- [ˈbʌ.ɾə.flɑɪ̯] Australia
Where it comes from
From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly.
An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products.
Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).
Contrary to popularised belief, the form "butterfly" was not derived from an earlier flutterby.
noun butterflies
- A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring. It is true. I am like a butterfly, and I shall only live a little while.
- The imago (final form) of such an insect, consisting usually of a long body with large flat wings, as opposed to earlier instars such as caterpillar or pupa. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and he was a beautiful butterfly!
- A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed. butterfly tape; butterfly bandage; butterfly strips
- The butterfly stroke.
- Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see Butterfly curve (transcendental) and Butterfly curve (algebraic).
- Ellipsis of butterflies in one’s stomach (“A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach”). I get terrible butterflies before an exam.
- Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable. He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly.
- A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited profit and limited risk.
- A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect. One potential butterfly could be JFK having another son the year after the POD instead of a daughter.
- A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings fluttering.
- A person who changes partners frequently. What does it mean to be a butterfly in Pattaya? It means, just like a butterfly briefly visits many flowers, you will briefly visit many different girls.
- A safety link or detaching hook above the cage attached to the winding rope to prevent the cage from being overwound.
-
party switcher; turncoat.
Similar: balimbing, apostate, butterfly, changeling, defector, runagate, traitor, transfuge, turncloak, turncoat, turntippet, withersake
verb butterflies · butterflying · butterflied
- To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly. butterflied shrimp
- To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it. After everyone had obeyed his commands, the lieutenant motioned for two medics that now appeared to enter the room and attend to Dr. Carter. They bandaged him up, butterflying some of the deeper gashes and gave him a couple of shots.
- To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history, and people conceived after the point of divergence to not exist in recognizable form, due to the random variations introduced by the butterfly effect. Pearl Harbor not happening would've butterflied Taylor Swift.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: butterfly stroke, moth, wing, honey, papillon, mariposa, tie, throttle, wheel, flag, skipper, mormon, monarch, farfalla, nymphalid, lepidopteran
Translations
Every language
noun insect
| Español | mariposa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 나비 nabi, 호접 hojeop |
| 日本語 | 胡蝶 kochō, 蝶々 chōchō, 蝶 chō, チョウ chō, 蝶 kawahirako |
| 中文 | 蝴蝶 húdié |
| हिन्दी | तितली titlī |
| Kiswahili | kipepeo |
| Português | borboleta, panapaná |
| Français | papillon |
| Deutsch | Schmetterling, Falter, Tagfalter |
| Italiano | farfalla |
| Ελληνικά | πεταλούδα petaloúda, ψυχή psychí |
| Română | fluture |
| Русский | ба́бочка bábočka, мотылёк motyljók, моты́ль motýlʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bươm bướm, bướm |
| العربية | فَرَاشَة farāša |
| עברית | פַּרְפַּר parpár |
noun butterfly tape
| Kiswahili | kipepeo |
|---|---|
| Français | pansement papillon |
noun person who changes partners frequently
| Italiano | farfallone |
|---|
Talk about this word "butterfly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/butterfly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. butterfly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/butterfly "butterfly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/butterfly.Cite this
@misc{butterfly_2026,
title = {butterfly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/butterfly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
