Butterfly - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: Butterfly

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

but·ter·fly

Audio Help [buht-er-flahy] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -flies, verb, -flied, -fly·ing, adjective

–noun

1.	any of numerous diurnal insects of the order Lepidoptera, characterized by clubbed antennae, a slender body, and large, broad, often conspicuously marked wings.

2.	a person who flits aimlessly from one interest or group to another: a social butterfly.

3.	butterflies, (used with a plural verb) Informal. a queasy feeling, as from nervousness, excitement, etc.

4.	a racing breaststroke, using a dolphin kick, in which the swimmer brings both arms out of the water in forward, circular motions.

5.	Carpentry. butterfly wedge.

6.	Sculpture. an X-shaped support attached to an armature.

7.	one of the swinging brackets of a butterfly table.

8.	Movies. a screen of scrim, gauze, or similar material, for diffusing light.

–verb (used with object)

9.	Cookery. to slit open and spread apart to resemble the spread wings of a butterfly.

–adjective Also, butterflied.

10.	Cookery. split open and spread apart to resemble a butterfly: butterfly shrimp; butterfly steak.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME boterflye, OE buttorfléoge. See butter, fly²

]

—Related forms

but·ter·fly·like, adjective, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Butterfly

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

but·ter·fly Audio Help (bŭt'ər-flī') Pronunciation Key
n.

Any of various insects of the order Lepidoptera, characteristically having slender bodies, knobbed antennae, and four broad, usually colorful wings.
A person interested principally in frivolous pleasure: a social butterfly.
Sports
1. A swimming stroke in which a swimmer lying face down draws both arms upward out of the water, thrusts them forward, and draws them back under the water in an hourglass design while performing a dolphin kick.
2. A race or a leg of a race in which this stroke is swum.
butterflies A feeling of unease or mild nausea caused especially by fearful anticipation.

tr.v. but·ter·flied, but·ter·fly·ing, but·ter·flies
To cut and spread open and flat, as shrimp.

[Middle English butterflye, from Old English butorflēoge : butor, butere, butter; see butter + flēoge, fly; see fly².]

Word History: Is a butterfly named for the color of its excrement or because it was thought to steal butter? It is hard to imagine that anyone ever noticed the color of butterfly excrement or believed the insect capable of such theft. The first suggestion rests on the fact that an early Dutch name for the butterfly was boterschijte. The second is based on an old belief that the butterfly was really a larcenous witch in disguise.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
butterfly

O.E. buttorfleoge, perhaps based on the old notion that the insects (or witches disguised as butterflies) consume butter or milk that is left uncovered. Or, less creatively, simply because the pale yellow color of many species' wings suggests the color of butter. Another theory connects it to the color of the insect's excrement, based on Du. cognate boterschijte. A fascinating overview of words for "butterfly" in various languages can be found here. The swimming stroke so called from 1936. Butterflies "light stomach spasms caused by anxiety" is from 1908.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

butterfly
noun
1.	diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings
2.	a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down
verb
1.	flutter like a butterfly
2.	cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking; "butterflied shrimp"
3.	talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions; "The guys always try to chat up the new secretaries"; "My husband never flirts with other women" [syn: chat up]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
butterfly [ˈbatəflai] noun — plural ˈbutterflies

a type of insect with large (often coloured) wings

Arabic:	فَراشَه
Chinese (Simplified):	蝴蝶
Chinese (Traditional):	蝴蝶
Czech:	motýl
Danish:	sommerfugl
Dutch:	vlinder
Estonian:	liblikas
Finnish:	perhonen
French:	papillon
German:	der Schmetterling
Greek:	πεταλούδα
Hungarian:	lepke
Icelandic:	fiðrildi
Indonesian:	kupu-kupu
Italian:	farfalla

Japanese:	蝶
Latvian:	tauriņš
Lithuanian:	drugelis
Norwegian:	sommerfugl
Polish:	motyl
Portuguese (Brazil):	borboleta
Portuguese (Portugal):	borboleta
Romanian:	fluture
Russian:	бабочка
Slovak:	motýľ
Slovenian:	metulj
Spanish:	mariposa
Swedish:	fjäril
Turkish:	kelebek

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Butterfly

But"ter*fly`\, n.; pl. Butterflies. [Perh. from the color of a yellow species. AS. buter-fl[=e]ge, buttor-fle['o]ge; cf. G. butterfliege, D. botervlieg. See Butter, and Fly.] (Zo["o]l.) A general name for the numerous species of diurnal Lepidoptera.

Note: [See Illust. under Aphrodite.]

Asclepias butterfly. See under Asclepias.

Butterfly fish (Zo["o]l.), the ocellated blenny (Blennius ocellaris) of Europe. See Blenny. The term is also applied to the flying gurnard.

Butterfly shell (Zo["o]l.), a shell of the genus Voluta.

Butterfly valve (Mech.), a kind of double clack valve, consisting of two semicircular clappers or wings hinged to a cross rib in the pump bucket. When open it somewhat resembles a butterfly in shape.

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