Butterfly


Butterfly
 The Oxford English Dictionary derives the word from a combination of butter and fly. It adds: "The reason of the name is unknown", and refers to Hensleigh Wedgwood, who "points out a Dutch synonym boterschijte in Kilian, which suggests that the insect was so called from the appearance of its excrement"
 Donald Ringe writes that the name is derived from Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English butorflēoge, buttorflēoge, buterflēoge, perhaps a compound of butor (beater), mutation of bēatan (to beat), and flēoge fly