Meanings
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1
noun
A flying insect with large, often brightly coloured wings.
A blue butterfly landed on the flower.
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2
noun
A nervous, fluttering feeling in the stomach.
I get butterflies before every exam.
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3
verb
To cut meat or fish almost in half and spread it open flat for cooking.
He butterflied the chicken breast before grilling it.
Thesaurus
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-der. 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…
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