Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *tuh₂rós Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganądeverb. Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ Proto-West Germanic *fleugā Old English flēoge Old English buterflēoge Middle English boterflye English butterfly From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-excretor”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly. An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products. Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”). Contrary to popularised belief, the form "butterfly" was not derived from an earlier flutterby.

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