noun pl. butterflies
- any of various families of lepidopteran insects active in the daytime, having a sucking mouthpart, slender body, ropelike, knobbed antennae, and four broad, usually brightly colored, membranous wings
- a person, esp. a woman, thought of as flitting about like a butterfly and being frivolous, fickle, etc.
- butterfly stroke
- a contest in which each contestant uses a butterfly stroke
Origin:
ME buterflie < OE buttorfleoge (see butter & fly): in folklore, it is thought to steal milk or butter
adjective
resembling a butterfly, esp. in having parts that are spread out like wings: butterfly chair, butterfly table
transitive verb butterflied, butterflying
to slice (a pork chop, shrimp, etc.) most of the way through and spread open before cooking