butter meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

butter

noun

UK /ˈbʌtə/ · US /ˈbʌtɚ/

Etymology

PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *tuh₂rós Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Middle English buter English butter From Middle English buter, butter, from Old English butere, from Proto-West Germanic *buterā, from Latin būtȳrum, from Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron, “cow cheese”), compound of βοῦς (boûs, “ox, cow”) and τῡρός (tūrós, “cheese”). Cognate with Dutch boter and German Butter.

Usually A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle Usually Any of various foodstuffs made from other foods or oils, similar in consistency to, eaten like or intended as a substitute for butter (preceded by the name of the food used to make it).

peanut butter
soy butter

1 more example

chocolate butter

Usually Any of various substances made from other (especially plant-based) oils or fats, used in moisturizers, cosmetics, etc.

Butters such as cocoa, illippe, kokum, mango, murumuru, sal (shorea) and shea occur naturally and are obtained directly from the plant.2016 September 7, Elaine Stavert, Beauty Oils & Butter, GMC PUBLICATIONS LTD, →ISBN:
Butters are triglycerides […]. Cocoa butter (Theobroma cacao) is used as an emollient in topical cosmetic formulations, […] South American and the Brazilian rainforest offer various plants with common butters used in the industry that include […] cupuaçu butter […] and murumuru butter from the murumuru palm tree (Astrocaryum murumuru). India is another source of many butters used in cosmetic products, including kokum butter extracted from the seeds of the Garcinia indica tree, mango butter from the Mangifera indica tree and shea butter[…]2019 April 5, Heather A.E. Benson, Michael S. Roberts, Vania Rodrigues Leite-Silva, Kenneth Walters, Cosmetic Formulation: Principles and Practice, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 227:

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Obsolete, Usually Any specific soft substance.

butter of antimony; butter of arsenic

Slang, Sometimes, Usually Something that is smooth, impressive, or appealing. (Compare smooth as butter.)

That “Confessions” into “Nice and Slow” transition [at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show] was buttah !2024 February 12, @OluBliss, X (post):

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Slang, Sometimes, Usually A smooth plane landing.

That landing was total butter!

Derived terms: 178 terms
almond-butter, almond butter, apple butter, back-butter, back butter, bean-butter, black butter, blue butter, body butter, bog butter, brandy butter, bread and butter, bread-and-butter, bread-and-butter issue, bread-and-butter letter, bread-and-butter note, bread-and-butter pickle, bread-and-butter plate, bread and butter pudding, brown butter, budder, bull butter, butterable, butter-and-egger, butter-and-egg man, butter-and-egg money, butter-and-eggs, butter bar, butter bean, butterbird, butter board, butter boat, butter bomb, butter-box, butter bread, butter brickle, butterburger, butterbutt, butter cake, butter chicken, butter clam, butter cream, buttercream, buttercrunch, butter curler, butter dish, butterdock, butterer, butter face, butterface, butterfaced, butter fat, butter-fat, butter-fingered, butter fingers, butter flap, butter flower, butter fruit, butterhead, butterhorn, butter icing, butter keeper, butter lamp, butterleaf, butterlike, butterman, butter measure, buttermint, butter mochi, buttermonger, butter mountain, butter-muslin, butter muslin, butter of antimony, butter of arsenic, butter of tin, butter of zinc, butter oil, butteroil, butter paddle, butter paper, butter pat, butter pear, butter pie, butter plate, butter salt, butter scoop, butterscotch, butter-slide, butter slime, butterspoon, butter tart, butter tea, butter tofu, butter tooth, butter tree, butter will not melt in someone's mouth, butter-woman, butterwoman, butter won't melt in someone's mouth, butter would not melt in someone's mouth, butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth, butter yellow, cacao butter, cannabutter, clarified butter, cocoa butter, compound butter, cookie butter, cowboy butter, Cumberland rum butter, drawn butter, duck butter, egg butter, fairies' butter, fairy butter, garlic butter, gooey butter cake, green butter, guns and butter, head butter, head-butter, herb butter, honey butter, kanya butter, karite butter, knob of butter, kombo butter, land with one's bum in the butter, like a hot knife through butter, like a knife through butter, like butter on a bald monkey, lung butter, maître d' butter, maple butter, melt someone's butter, midshipman's butter, movie theater butter, nonbutter, nun's butter, nut-brown butter, nut butter, nutter, palm-butter, palm butter, pea butter, peanut butter, peanut-butter-and-jelly, peanut butter and jelly, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, peanut butter cup, peanut-butter cup, plant butter, poor man's butter, print butter, process butter, put butter on one's bread, rebutter, renovated butter, rock butter, rum butter, school-butter, shea butter, shea butter tree, smooth as butter, snail butter, snuff-and-butter, sugar-butter sauce, sweet butter, tanning butter, truffle butter, vegan butter, vegetable butter, whatever melts your butter, whipped butter, whiskey butter, whisky butter, witches' butter
Related terms: butterface, butterfly, butter-ham

butter

verb

Etymology

To spread butter on.

Butter the toast.

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports To move one's weight backwards or forwards onto the tips or tails of one's skis or snowboard so only the tip or tail is in contact with the snow. Similar to applying butter to bread with the end of a knife.

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports To spin on skis or a snowboard using only the tips or tails being in contact with the snow

Obsolete, Slang To increase (stakes) at every throw of dice, or every game.

Derived terms: 25 terms
butter down, buttered, buttering, butter my butt and call it a biscuit, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, butter one's bread and lie in it, butter one's bread on both sides, butter out, butter someone's biscuit, butter the cony, butter up, fine words butter no parsnips, have one's bread buttered for life, know which side one's bread is buttered on, nosebutter, nosebuttered, nosebuttering, tailbutter, tailbuttered, tailbuttering, whatever butters your biscuit, whatever butters your biscuits, whatever butters your bread, whatever butters your muffin, whatever butters your toast
Related terms: butyraceous, ghee

butter

noun

Etymology From butt + -er.

Someone or something that butts.

[…] these animals lacked self-correcting mechanisms of the kind seen in modern head-butters such as goats and big-horn sheep that would have kept the tremendous forces aligned with the rest of the skeleton.2005, David E. Fastovsky, David B. Weishampel, The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs, page 156:

Someone or something that butts in; a busybody.

butter

butter

butter

butter

Learn more