buttercup meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

buttercup

noun

UK /ˈbʌt.ə.kʌp/ · US /ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/

Etymology From butter + cup. Both sense 1 and 2 are from the flowers' association with butter, from their yellow colour. Compare butterflower for a similar derivation; outside of English, compare Dutch boterbloem, German Butterblume.

Any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.

Any flower of the genus Narcissus; a daffodil.

Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of buttercup squash.

An affectionate or ironic term of address.

When she touched my hand, what a chill I got Her lips are like a volcano that's hot I'm proud to say that she's my buttercup. I'm in love - I'm all shook up.1957, “All Shook Up”, Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley (lyrics), performed by Elvis Presley:
Listen, buttercup, you're damned good in bed. They don't come any better, but I'm really not interested in playing second fiddle to your camera or your young lovers.1987, Joyce Brandon, Lady and the Lawman, page 346:

Derived terms: Bermuda buttercup, bulbous buttercup, buttercup anemone, buttercuplike, buttercupped, buttercup squash, buttercup tree, California buttercup, creeping buttercup, glacier buttercup, goldilocks buttercup, Greenland buttercup, wood buttercup