boterflye
Middle English
Alternative forms
- butreflye, buttyrfle, butter-flyeȝ, buterflie, butturflye, buttirflye, botreflee, boterfleȝe, buterfliȝe, butterflie, botirflij, botirflye, butterfflye, buttyrflye
Etymology
From Old English buttorflēoge, buterflēoge; equivalent to buter + flye.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbutərˌfliː(ə)/, /ˈbutərˌflei̯(ə)/
- (Northern) IPA(key): /ˈbutərˌflei̯/ (earlier), /ˈbutərˌfleː/ (later)
Noun
boterflye (plural boterflyes or boterflien)
- butterfly (insect of the order Lepidoptera)
- (rare) Something of little import or value.
- (rare) A chameleon.
Descendants
- English: butterfly
- Scots: butterflee
References
- “buter-flīe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 September 2018.