Eliane a/k/a Elly

Momable's Factoid of the Day

Monday, 1. December 2008, 07:58:43

butterfly

The original name for the butterfly was 'flutterby'!

Eliane says: Flutterby makes a whole lot more sense!!!!!

A Blogwright's LifeMysterious Ghost

Comments

Dacotah # 1. December 2008, 11:03

sprogger # 1. December 2008, 12:21

Unfortunatly thats not true.
'Buttorfleoge' was the word used in Old English for butterflies. It is thought that they believed that butterflies used to steal milk. There a similar word in Dutch and German for much the same reason.
There is an alternative folk etymology that the term has evolved as a contraction of the term 'butter-coloured fly'. This term was generally used for the Brimstone Butterfly, which often is the first butterfly of Spring.

Brimstone Butterfly

momable # 3. December 2008, 05:16

Hya, Carol.

momable # 3. December 2008, 05:54

Well, Richard, what you say is true for the origins of the word "butterfly". I didn't claim "origins" I just said it was originally called flutterby. I should have stated, also, in the USA.

Flutterby is a word in useage, whether by people (I have heard people use this term), whether in writings (we all know people make up words for stories and poetry--I rather doubt a lot of those Dr. Seuss words are in the dictionary, for that matter

and I have seen the word in books and poetry.)

It isn't in an online dictionary or in the online etymology dictionary but various museums do say that the original word for butterfly was flutterby, i.e., http://www.carrboro.com/butterflyhouse.html

Here in the States, I found this info:

"Well, the Butterfly was infact once called the Flutterby, but this was back in the days before the motorcar (or horseless carriage, as I like to call it). In 1879, Mr. Horace Plug of New York invented a type of wind-up flying machine which was the predecessor of the modern Helicopoptor (to give it it's proper name...). This machine was patented the 'Flutterby', so from that day foreward, anyone who wished to use the term, even to refer to the insect, had to pay Mr. Plug two sparkely pennies. Obviously this was a bit of an inconvenience, so the insect was renamed the 'Butterfly'."

The website for the above info is: http://www.angelfire.com/nt/Mac/faq.html

Various "fact" sites do mention the flutterby theory. For example: www.bestuff.com/stuff/the-original-name-for-the-butterfly-was-flutterby
www.amusingfacts.com/facts/Detail/butterfly-flutterby..html

I can't find any info on Horace Plug or helicopoptor right now and don't know if I want to go through Patent Records to find out more; but since Mr. Plug would get money every time flutterby was mentioned, I assume that no book would take the time to write about him or his invention.

Reminds me a bit of the guy who patented world-wide the words "waterproof and water proof". Now everything is called "water resistant"

At the time the person patented these words, it was in the newspaper and everything became water resistant. Now, can't find info on the guy; although I see some companies are using the words again.

So, the butterfly, flutterby debate continues

qlue # 3. December 2008, 10:30

I always understood the term 'flutterby' to be the creative work of Lewis Carrol. I'm probably wrong though.

Dacotah # 3. December 2008, 13:34

Hiya Elly. How are you. Miss having you around.

sprogger # 3. December 2008, 16:00

Oobviously your information sources are different to mine

But I would be wary of taking as fact anything from a web site that has trouble spelling Helicopter correctly. Or that would have you believe-

"Crabs are fully aware that they are dancing - they use the medium of dance to signal to others where the nearest bacon sandwich can be found. They do carry a rhythm in their heads - it's that of the Leo Sayer song "You make me feel like dancing"."

I had a look in the oldest dictionary that I could find, A websters from 1758, and thare was no mention of flutterby on its own or in referance to butterfly.

Now I have no doubt that the word Flutterby is frequently used in reference to a Butterfly, I am fairly sure I have done so my self on numerous occasions, even on my own blog.

But it seems more likely that flutterby came from butterfly rather than the other way round.

http://www.aworldforbutterflies.com/etymology.htm

Not that it really matters one way or the other

momable # 3. December 2008, 18:31

Adill, that is so interesting.

Now I want to read all the Alice books again.

momable # 3. December 2008, 18:48

Richard, I believe that helicopopter is a slang-African American word since I have heard black people use this word for helicopter. Whether it was actually helicopopter or helicopter used when referring to the machine flutterby, I don't know.

It said that about crabs, that is hilarious

So he or she claims they dance to find their food, like bees. Hmmm. I will have to research that further now, just from curiousity.

As to the website about butterflies, other than the Albanian "flutera" there is no mention of anything even sounding like flutterby. No butterfly etymology info here on the net even mentions flutterby.

The net is full of info concerning the lack of flutterby in regular dictionaries and etmology dictionaries, though.

Oh, well. I like this word, flutterby. So I am going to use it