Bŭt'ter-fly, n.

noun

n. [So named from the color of a yellow species. A-S. buter-flege, buttor-fleoge, Ger. butterfliege, buttervogel, D. boter-vlieg. See FLY.] (Entom.) An insect of different species of the order Lepidoptera, and especially of the family Papilio. See

An engraved illustration shows a butterfly with a caterpillar below it and a chrysalis to the right. — Butterfly; Caterpillar; Chrysalis.