BUTTERFLIES (IN THE STOMACH)

butterfly |ˈbətərˌflī| noun ( pl. -flies) an insect with two pairs of large wings that are covered with tiny scales, usually brightly colored, and typically held erect when at rest. Butterflies fly by day, have clubbed or dilated antennae, and usually feed on nectar. • Superfamilies Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea, order Lepidoptera: several families. Formerly placed in a grouping known as the Rhopalocera. Compare with moth. • a showy or frivolous person : a social butterfly. • ( butterflies) informal a fluttering and nauseated sensation felt in the stomach when one is nervous. • (in full butterfly stroke) [in sing. ] a stroke in swimming in which both arms are raised out of the water and lifted forward together. • [as adj. ] having a two-lobed shape resembling the spread wings of a butterfly : a butterfly clip. verb ( -flies, -flied) [ trans. ] split (a piece of meat) almost in two and spread it out flat : [as adj. ] ( butterflied) butterflied shrimp. ORIGIN Old English , from butter + fly 2 ; perhaps from the cream or yellow color of common species, or from an old belief that the insects stole butter.