butterfly

[ buht-er-flahy ]

/ ˈbʌt ərˌflaɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR butterfly ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural but·ter·flies.

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

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

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

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

Carpentry. butterfly wedge.

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

one of the swinging brackets of a butterfly table.

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

verb (used with object), but·ter·flied, but·ter·fly·ing.

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

adjective Also butterflied.

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

Nearby words

butterfield, butterfingers, butterfish, butterflies, butterflies in one's stomach, butterfly, butterfly ballot, butterfly bomb, butterfly bush, butterfly chair, butterfly closure

Origin of butterfly

before 1000; Middle English boterflye, Old English buttorflēoge. See butter, fly²

Related formsbut·ter·fly·like, adjective, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for butterfly

“When you become a peshmerga your life becomes like a butterfly,” she said.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass|Susannah George|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This video remedies that injustice, showcasing an owl doing a butterfly stroke in Lake Michigan.
Swimming Owls, Jane Krakowski’s Peter Pan Live! Audition, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A small wooden cabinet with two butterfly doors held ropes and chains, candles, and sex toys.
A Murder in Detroit’s Sexual Underworld|Steve Miller|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The labels included a picture of a butterfly on a blade of grass.
Whole Foods' Anti-GMO Swindle|Michael Schulson|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The opera charts the tragic tale of Butterfly waiting in vain for her husband to return to her.
Return of the Bunny Boiler: Fatal Attraction’s World Stage Premiere|Nico Hines|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For instance, when she becomes a rose, he changes into a butterfly to kiss her.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
I had, indeed, seen the butterfly of the night; I had seen the man hanging, and I had seen Fledermausse.
Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories|Edited by Julian Hawthorne
Now, many people, who never throughtthought of rearing a butterfly, are giving careful attention to them in all their stages.
Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do|Anonymous
Infinitesimal grubs, newly hatched from butterfly eggs and barely six inches long, furnished them with tidbits.
Nightmare Planet|Murray Leinster
One day we were out in the fields, when she ran off in chase of a butterfly.
Ben Burton|W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for butterfly

butterfly

/ (ˈbʌtəˌflaɪ) /

noun plural -flies

any diurnal insect of the order Lepidoptera that has a slender body with clubbed antennae and typically rests with the wings (which are often brightly coloured) closed over the backCompare moth Related adjective: lepidopteran

a person who never settles with one group, interest, or occupation for long

a swimming stroke in which the arms are plunged forward together in large circular movements

commerce the simultaneous purchase and sale of traded call options, at different exercise prices or with different expiry dates, on a stock exchange or commodity market

Word Origin for butterfly

Old English buttorflēoge; the name perhaps is based on a belief that butterflies stole milk and butter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for butterfly

butterfly

Old English buttorfleoge, evidently butter (n.) + fly (n.), but of obscure signification. 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 Dutch cognate boterschijte. An overview of words for "butterfly" in various languages can be found here. Also see papillon.

Applied to persons from c.1600, originally in reference to vain and gaudy attire; by 1806 in reference to transformation from early lowly state; in reference to flitting tendencies by 1873. The swimming stroke so called from 1936. Butterflies "light stomach spasms caused by anxiety" is from 1908.

The butterfly effect is a deceptively simple insight extracted from a complex modern field. As a low-profile assistant professor in MIT's department of meteorology in 1961, [Edward] Lorenz created an early computer program to simulate weather. One day he changed one of a dozen numbers representing atmospheric conditions, from .506127 to .506. That tiny alteration utterly transformed his long-term forecast, a point Lorenz amplified in his 1972 paper, "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" [Peter Dizikes, "The Meaning of the Butterfly," The Boston Globe, June 8, 2008]

butterfly

noun, plural but·ter·flies.

verb (used with object), but·ter·flied, but·ter·fly·ing.

adjective Also butterflied.

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Origin of butterfly

Examples from the Web for butterfly

British Dictionary definitions for butterfly

butterfly

noun plural -flies

Word Origin for butterfly

Word Origin and History for butterfly

butterfly