butterfly, butterfly stroke
(noun) a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down
butterfly
(noun) diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings
butterfly
(verb) cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking; “butterflied shrimp”
butterfly
(verb) flutter like a butterfly
Source: WordNet® 3.1
butterfly (plural butterflies)
A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring. [from 11th c.]
A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.
(swimming) The butterfly stroke. [from 20th c.]
(in plural) A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach.
(now, rare) Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable. [from 17th c.]
• lep
butterfly (third-person singular simple present butterflies, present participle butterflying, simple past and past participle butterflied)
(transitive) To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.
(transitive) To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it.
• flutterby
Source: Wiktionary
But"ter*fly`, n.; pl. Butterflies. Etym: [Perh. from the color of a yellow species. AS. buter-flege, buttor-fleóge; cf. G. butterfliege, D. botervlieg. See Butter, and Fly.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: A general name for the numerous species of diurnal Lepidoptera.
Note: [See Illust. under Aphrodite.] Asclepias butterfly. See under Asclepias.
– Butterfly fish (Zoöl.), the ocellated blenny (Blennius ocellaris) of Europe. See Blenny. The term is also applied to the flying gurnard.
– Butterfly shell (Zoöl.), 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
15 May 2025
(adjective) excessively unwilling to spend; “parsimonious thrift relieved by few generous impulses”; “lived in a most penurious manner--denying himself every indulgence”
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
