Definition of "butterfly"

butterfly

/ˈbʌtə(ɹ)flaɪ/

noun
plural butterflies
1. A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.
  Quotations
  It is true. I am like a butterfly, and I shall only live a little while.
  1936, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “[Autobiographical Fragment]”, in Edward D[avid] McDonald, editor, Phoenix: The Posthumous Papers of D. H. Lawrence, London: William Heinemann Ltd., page 836
2. (medicine, attributive) A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.
3. (swimming) The butterfly stroke.
4. Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see Butterfly curve (transcendental) and Butterfly curve (algebraic).
5. (in the plural) A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach.
6. (now rare) Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable.
  Quotations
  He was affable; therefore he was frivolous. The women liked him; therefore he was a butterfly.
  1859, George Meredith, chapter 15, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall
  The day came indeed when her breathless auditors learnt from her in bewilderment that what ailed him was that he was, alas, simply not serious. Maisie wept on Mrs. Wix's bosom after hearing that Sir Claude was a butterfly […].
  1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew
7. (finance) A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited profit and limited risk.
8. (alternate history) A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect.
9. (sports) A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings fluttering.
10. A person who changes partners frequently.
  Quotations
  What does it mean to be a butterfly in Pattaya? It means, just like a butterfly briefly visits many flowers, you will briefly visit many different girls.
  2022 December 9, Darren C, “Paying For Bar Girls, Sex in Pattaya”, in Pattaya Unlimited‎
verb
third-person singular simple present butterflies, present participle butterflying, simple past and past participle butterflied
1. (transitive) To cut (food) almost entirely in half and spread the halves apart, in a shape suggesting the wings of a butterfly.
2. (transitive) To cut strips of surgical tape or plasters into thin strips, and place across (a gaping wound) to close it.
  Quotations
  After everyone had obeyed his commands, the lieutenant motioned for two medics that now appeared to enter the room and attend to Dr. Carter. They bandaged him up, butterflying some of the deeper gashes and gave him a couple of shots.
  2006, Paul Garber, Newton's Force, page 256
3. (transitive, of the point of divergence of an alternate history scenario) 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.