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butterfly - 7 dictionary results
Butterfly Alphabet
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Release live Butterflies
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but⋅ter⋅fly

  [buht-er-flahy] noun, plural -flies, verb, -flied, -fly⋅ing, adjective
Use butterfly in a Sentence
–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 buttorflēoge. See butter, fly 2

Related forms:
but⋅ter⋅fly⋅like, adjective, adverb
Butterfly Alphabet
Inspiring posters, books & gifts. Fun and educational for kids!
www.ButterflyAlphabet.com
Release live Butterflies
Special Free butterflies with packages #1, #2, #4
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butterfly wedge

 
–noun Carpentry.
a wooden fastening in the form of a double dovetail for joining two boards at their edges.
Also called butterfly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To butterfly
but·ter·fly   (bŭt'ər-flī')   
n.  
  1. Any of various insects of the order Lepidoptera, characteristically having slender bodies, knobbed antennae, and four broad, usually colorful wings.
  2. A person interested principally in frivolous pleasure: a social butterfly.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : butterfly
Spanish: mariposa,
German: der Schmetterling,
Japanese: 蝶
More Translations »

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1but·ter·fly
Pronunciation: -"flI
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -flies
1 pl : a feeling of hollowness or queasiness caused especially by emotional or nervous tension or anxious anticipation
2 : a bandage with wing-shaped extensions

Main Entry: 2butterfly
Function: adjective
: being, relating to, or affecting the area of the face including both cheeks connected by a band across the nosebutterfly lesion of lupus erythematosus> butterfly area>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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