butterbur

American  

[buht-er-bur] / ˈbʌt ərˌbɜr /

noun

• butterburs
  plural

1. any of several composite plants of the genus Petasites, having large, woolly leaves said to have been used to wrap butter.

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butterbur British  

/ ˈbʌtəˌbɜː /

noun

1. a plant of the Eurasian genus Petasites with fragrant whitish or purple flowers, woolly stems, and leaves formerly used to wrap butter: family Asteraceae (composites)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• butterburs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of butterbur

First recorded in 1540–50; butter + bur ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butterbur butterburs

I tried an herbal remedy, a capsule that contained feverfew, butterbur and something else.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2021

The only blooms were a few early meadowsweet and a patch of pink butterbur.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

There is, however, something curious about this butterbur.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Richard Jefferies

So, too, the butterbur of the river flowers before its great leaf comes.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Richard Jefferies

In Allan Water, near by where it falls into the Forth, we found a little sandy islet, overgrown with burdock, butterbur and the like low plants, that would just cover us if we lay flat.

From Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

By these, but on the lower ground almost level with the water, big forget-me-nots, butterburs, and wild snake's-head lilies should be set, and all the crimson and white varieties of garden daisy.

From The Naturalist on the Thames by C. J. (Charles John) Cornish

The spreading circles broaden outwards, and make their little marsh, planted with water-grass and forget-me-nots and blue bog-bean, and in the spring with butterburs.

From The Naturalist on the Thames by C. J. (Charles John) Cornish