[buht-er-flahy] 
noun, plural -flies, verb, -flied, -fly⋅ing, adjective | 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. |
| 9. | Cookery. to slit open and spread apart to resemble the spread wings of a butterfly. |
| 10. | Cookery. split open and spread apart to resemble a butterfly: butterfly shrimp; butterfly steak. |
| a wooden fastening in the form of a double dovetail for joining two boards at their edges. |
| but·ter·fly (bŭt'ər-flī') n.
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. |