butterfly
To cut almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the…To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.
» I captured butterflies with a net.
Ich habe Schmetterlinge mit einem Netz gefangen. — Manfredo
Ich fing Schmetterlinge mit einem Netz. — Manfredo
Я наловил сачком бабочек. — marafon
Я спіймав метеликів сачком. — ChickenKiev
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(transitive)To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.
butterflied shrimp
Butterfly the chicken before you grill it.
(transitive)To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it.
(transitive)To cause events after the point of divergence to not happen as they did in real history, and people conceived after the point of divergence to not exist in recognizable form, due to the random variations introduced by the butterfly effect.
Pearl Harbor not happening would've butterflied Taylor Swift.
- cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking
- flutter like a butterfly
- talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions
Examples
320 sentencesI captured butterflies with a net.
Я спіймав метеликів сачком. — ChickenKiev
ruЯ наловил сачком бабочек. — marafon
deIch habe Schmetterlinge mit einem Netz gefangen. — Manfredo
His hobby is collecting strange butterflies.
Його хобі - колекціонування незвичайних метеликів. — ChickenKiev
ruЕго хобби - коллекционирование необычных бабочек. — marafon
He knows a lot about butterflies.
Він багато знає про метеликів. — ChickenKiev
ruОн многое знает о бабочках. — odexed
deEr weiß viel über Schmetterlinge. — Esperantostern
Is it a butterfly or a moth?
Це метелик чи моль? — ChickenKiev
ruЭто бабочка или мотылёк? — Hellerick
deIst es ein Schmetterling oder eine Motte? — Tamy
This caterpillar will become a beautiful butterfly.
Ця гусениця перетвориться на прекрасного метелика. — ChickenKiev
ruЭта гусеница превратится в прекрасную бабочку. — redscorp
deDiese Raupe wird ein hübscher Schmetterling werden. — lilygilder
Origin
From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivaFrom Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
butterflies, butterflying, butterflied, butterflied| Base form | butterfly · to butterfly |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | butterflies |
| Present participle | butterflying |
| Past simple | butterflied |
| Past participle | butterflied |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
8 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle