# butterfly

Pronunciation: US say "BUT-ur-fly" /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/; UK/AUS say "BUT-uh-fly" /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/

## Noun

1. A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, active by day and usually more brightly colored than moths.
   - Simple: A flying insect with large, often brightly colored wings that flies in the daytime.
   - _A monarch butterfly drifted across the meadow toward the milkweed._
   - _Many butterflies feed on nectar from blooming flowers._
2. Short for butterflies in one’s stomach: in the plural, a fluttering, nervous feeling in the stomach before something exciting or frightening. — Ellipsis of butterflies in one’s stomach (“A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach”).
   - Simple: Short for butterflies in one’s stomach. Used in the plural: a nervous, fluttery feeling before something exciting or scary.
   - _He felt butterflies as the plane began its descent._
   - _The actor still gets butterflies moments before stepping on stage._
3. A swimming stroke in which both arms sweep forward together over the water while the legs kick in unison.
   - Simple: A swimming stroke where both arms move forward together over the water while the legs kick at the same time.
   - _He won the 200-meter butterfly at the regional meet._
   - _Her butterfly improved after months of drills._
5. A frivolous or inconstant person who moves lightly from one interest, social group, or romantic partner to another.
   - Simple: A person who is not serious and keeps moving from one interest, group of friends, or lover to another.
   - _The old squire had no patience for such a butterfly, all silk and idle chatter._
   - _She would not marry a butterfly who flitted from one amusement to the next._
6. In ice hockey, a goalkeeping style or save in which the goalie falls onto both knees and splays the leg pads outward to each side.
   - Simple: In ice hockey, a way the goalie blocks shots by dropping to both knees with the leg pads spread out.
   - _She made a quick butterfly save to deny the breakaway in the final minute._
   - _Many modern goaltenders play the butterfly, keeping their pads flat on the ice to seal off the bottom of the net._
7. A stretch performed sitting on the ground with the legs folded so the feet meet, gently rocking the knees up and down like fluttering wings.
   - Simple: A sitting stretch where you press the soles of your feet together and move your knees up and down.
   - _She finished her warm-up with a slow butterfly, rocking her knees gently._
   - _The yoga teacher held the butterfly for a full minute._
8. A narrow piece of surgical tape stretched across a wound so that its edges are held shut.
   - Simple: A thin strip of surgical tape placed across a cut to hold its edges together.
   - _She closed the shallow gash with a butterfly rather than stitches._
   - _The first-aid kit included several butterflies for minor cuts._

## Verb

4. To cut food almost entirely in half and spread the two halves apart, forming a shape like a butterfly's open wings.
   - Simple: To cut meat or fish almost all the way through and open it out flat like a book.
   - _Ask the butcher to butterfly the leg of lamb for you._
   - _She butterflied the pork loin and stuffed it with herbs._
9. To cut surgical tape into thin strips and place them across a gaping wound to hold it closed.
   - Simple: To close a wound by placing thin strips of surgical tape across it.
   - _She butterflied the gash on his knee before the ambulance arrived._
   - _Paramedics sometimes butterfly a wound when stitches aren't available._

## Other meanings

- (noun) An options strategy that combines four options of one type across three strike prices, so that both potential gain and potential loss are capped.
- (noun) In alternate-history fiction, a chance change, seemingly unrelated to the point where the imagined history splits off, that follows from the butterfly effect.
- (verb) In alternate-history fiction, to make later events or people turn out differently from real history, or not exist, through the butterfly effect.
- (noun) A politician who switches party allegiance, viewed with scorn as a turncoat.
- (noun) Any of several plane curves whose shape resembles a butterfly.
- (noun) A safety link or detaching hook fitted above a mine cage on the winding rope to stop the cage from being overwound.

## Origin

From Old English buterflēoge, butter plus fly, like Dutch botervlieg and German Butterfliege. Why butter is uncertain (perhaps yellow wings, or old beliefs about butter), and the popular idea that the word began as flutterby is a myth.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/butterfly (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).