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butterfly

noun
/ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ//ˈbʌ.tə.flaɪ/UK/ˈbʌ.ɾɚ.flaɪ/CA

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ Proto-West Germanic *fleugā Old English flēoge Old English buterflēoge Middle English boterflye English butterfly From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly. An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products. Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).

  1. inherited from buterflēoge
  2. inherited from buterflie

Definitions

  1. A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal…

    A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.

    • It is true. I am like a butterfly, and I shall only live a little while.

  2. A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it…

    A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.

    • butterfly tape; butterfly bandage; butterfly strips

  3. The butterfly stroke.

  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly

      Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see Butterfly curve (transcendental) and Butterfly curve (algebraic).

    2. Ellipsis of butterflies in one’s stomach (“A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the…

      Ellipsis of butterflies in one’s stomach (“A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach”).

      • I get terrible butterflies before an exam.

    3. Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily

      Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable.

      • He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly.
      • The day came indeed when her breathless auditors learnt from her in bewilderment that what ailed him was that he was, alas, simply not serious. Maisie wept on Mrs. Wix's bosom after hearing that Sir Claude was a butterfly[…].

    4. A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited…

      A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited profit and limited risk.

    5. A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of…

      A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect.

      • One potential butterfly could be JFK having another son the year after the POD instead of a daughter.

    6. A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like…

      A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings fluttering.

    7. A person who changes partners frequently.

      • What does it mean to be a butterfly in Pattaya? It means, just like a butterfly briefly visits many flowers, you will briefly visit many different girls.

    8. A safety link or detaching hook above the cage attached to the winding rope to prevent…

      A safety link or detaching hook above the cage attached to the winding rope to prevent the cage from being overwound.

    9. party switcher

      party switcher; turncoat.

    10. To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting…

      To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.

      • butterflied shrimp
      • Butterfly the chicken before you grill it.

    11. To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping…

      To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it.

      • After everyone had obeyed his commands, the lieutenant motioned for two medics that now appeared to enter the room and attend to Dr. Carter. They bandaged him up, butterflying some of the deeper gashes and gave him a couple of shots.

    12. To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history,…

      To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history, and people conceived after the point of divergence to not exist in recognizable form, due to the random variations introduced by the butterfly effect.

      • Pearl Harbor not happening would've butterflied Taylor Swift.

The neighborhood

Derived

alfalfa butterfly, alpine butterfly bend, alpine butterfly knot, apefly, break a butterfly on a wheel, break a butterfly on the wheel, break a butterfly upon a wheel, break a butterfly upon the wheel, brush-footed butterfly, butterflier, butterflies in one's stomach, butterfly adder, butterfly agave, butterfly app, butterfly ballot, butterfly banners, butterfly bat, butterfly bend, butterfly blenny, butterfly bomb, butterfly bush, butterfly cake, butterfly chair, butterfly child, butterfly clam, butterfly clip, butterfly cod, butterfly collector, butterfly connector, butterfly crab, butterfly dam, butterfly damper, butterfly door, butterfly effect, butterflyfish, butterfly fish, butterfly flower, butterfly ginger, butterfly grip, butterfly hinge · +64 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at butterfly. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01butterfly02closed03sealed04prevent05stop06progressing07progress08monarch

A definitional loop anchored at butterfly. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at butterfly

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA