Butterfly
['bʌtəflaɪ] or ['bʌtɚflaɪ]
Definition
(noun.) a swimming stroke in which the arms are thrown forward together out of the water while the feet kick up and down.
(noun.) diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings.
(verb.) cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking; 'butterflied shrimp'.
(verb.) flutter like a butterfly.
Typist: Lottie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A general name for the numerous species of diurnal Lepidoptera.
Typist: Willie
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see a butterfly among flowers and green grasses, indicates prosperity and fair attainments. To see them flying about, denotes news from absent friends by letter, or from some one who has seen them. To a young woman, a happy love, culminating in a life union.
Checked by Flossie
Examples
- And besides, look at elder-flowers and bluebells--they are a sign that pure creation takes place--even the butterfly. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- I made it like those Beth invented, a big butterfly with a fat body, and black and yellow wings, worsted feelers, and bead eyes. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- But no one probably will dispute that the butterfly is higher than the caterpillar. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- In all his life he has never bred a single butterfly. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- No man could crush a butterfly on the wheel with better effect; no man better cover a speedy retreat from a powerful adversary. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I want our pet to like me, and be as gay as a butterfly. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The weather now became warm and bright, bringing Caliphronas out of his cabin again, like a brilliant butterfly, to bask in the sunshine. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Flowers had developed concurrently with bees and butterflies. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I allude to the wonderful manner in which certain butterflies imitate, as first described by Mr. Bates, other and quite distinct species. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The butterflies are free. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Her father and mother were gone to a party, and the rest were all out with the butterflies. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- And what is true of men and butterflies is true of every sort of living thing, of plants as of animals. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Altogether no less than ten genera are enumerated, which include species that imitate other butterflies. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Before sunset a strong breeze sprung up from the north, and this must have caused tens of thousands of the butterflies and other insects to perish. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Ursula rose and drifted away, unconscious like the butterflies. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She was exactly the same as ever, and the same immortal butterflies hovered over her cap. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- We see the same rule in the distribution of butterflies and beetles. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- It is hard for us to see individuality in butterflies because we do not observe them very closely, but it is easy for us to see it in men. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- After the Beagle sai led from the Plata, December 6, 1833, vast numbers of butterflies were seen as far as the eye could range in bands of countless m yriads. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Inputed by Hannibal