Flutterby

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A butterfly, often used playfully or by children as an imaginative reinterpretation of the insect's name
2. A butterfly viewed through a fanciful or lighthearted lens, with the term emphasizing the delicate fluttering motion of its wings
3. A butterfly described in a charming, informal way that captures the lightness and flutter of its movement through the air

Etymology: Flutterby is a Spoonerism: the sounds of "butterfly" have been swapped, with "fl" moved to the front and "b" moved to the end, so that a word meant as a playful twist on "butterfly" comes out of the same syllables. Most people who use it know it is a joke, which makes it an odd case of a word that exists only because its parent does. The reverse idea is a popular belief, and it is wrong. Many people assume "butterfly" grew out of an older "flutterby", but the real history runs the other way. "Butterfly" comes from Old English "buterflēoge", built from "butter" and "fly", and the same word appears in Middle English as "buterflie" and "boterflye" before settling into its modern form. The name itself is uncertain. It may first have referred to yellowish or cream-coloured butterflies, or it may reflect an old belief that these insects stole or licked butter and milk. Related German and Dutch words point the same way, with names meaning "whey-thief", "butter-licker" and "butter-excretor".