butterfly

noun

a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down

diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings

verb

talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions

cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking

flutter like a butterfly

Roots

boutyronbutter- · Greek · butter fleoge-fly · Old English · fly

Synonyms & related words for butterfly

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of butterfly. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to butterfly

Explore words related to butterfly — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include satyrid, pierid, pieridine, nymphalid, microlepidoptera, macrolepidoptera, birdwing, metalmark. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does butterfly come from?

The word butterfly breaks down into 2 roots of Greek and Old English origin: butter-, from Greek boutyron (“butter”); and -fly, from Old English fleoge (“fly”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.