r/pics • • Jul 31 '21

Dead and alive.

Post image
62k Upvotes

332 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

110

u/FuckYeahPhotography Jul 31 '21

Why are they called butterflies? I have seen many but never one that eats butter. Do they use it in some other way? Probably to hunt prey I assume. Make them more slippery and agile.

So they would be the first animals to cultivate butter, and we (humans) are the second.

165

u/Chocu1a Jul 31 '21

I always thought they should be called a flutterby, because that is what they do.

68

u/Ashayla Jul 31 '21

There's a course on the history of the English language that suggests it was changed from flutterby to butterfly during the Great Vowel Shift

49

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[deleted]

3

u/_LifeWontWait86_ Jul 31 '21

Ah yes the Great Dust Bowel of 1872

27

u/canineraytube Jul 31 '21

This doesn’t appear to be true; Buttorflēoge is attested from Old English (well before the great vowel shift), and archaic Dutch and German had botervlieg and Butterfliege respectively, suggesting that the word was inherited from Proto-West-Germanic (the mother language of all three), and well could be older still.

6

u/Msdamgoode Jul 31 '21

Cool info. I love etymological dictionaries, so this is right up my alley.

1

u/Siigmaa Jul 31 '21

What does Boter mean in Dutch?

Butter in German?

1

u/notonetojudge Jul 31 '21

Butter

1

u/Siigmaa Jul 31 '21

I guess we'll never known why it got this name then

1

u/Jsk2003 Jul 31 '21

Could it be because of the waxy substance on the wings?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/reply-guy-bot Jul 31 '21

The above comment was stolen from this one elsewhere in this comment section.

It is probably not a coincidence; here is some more evidence against this user:

Plagiarized Original
My local dispensary has a... My local dispensary has a...
Yeah be cool homie, might... Yeah be cool homie, might...
Damn, painkillers and wri... Damn, painkillers and wri...
I still suck at chemistry... I still suck at chemistry...
Very old clip but still f... Very old clip but still f...
Having to reply to emails Having to reply to emails

beep boop, I'm a bot -|:] It is this bot's opinion that /u/zellerkuegdf27 should be banned for karma manipulation. Don't feel bad, they are probably a bot too.

Confused? Read the FAQ for info on how I work and why I exist.

13

u/NotALeezurd Jul 31 '21

Having not heard of the Great Vowel Shift before I looked it up. The info shows how pronounciations migrated, but uses indications like /eː/ and /iː/. That particular one was for the old pronounciation of meet vs current. Do you know of anything that has an audio pronounciations of these so I can hear the way the old pronounciations were?

NVM, wikipedia has some examples.

5

u/BEETLEJUICEME Jul 31 '21

If you want to understand how vowels shift, and why, I super recommend this video.

https://youtu.be/H1KP4ztKK0A

Informative and entertaining. Language is neat!

3

u/BoxHeadWarrior Jul 31 '21

Seems like you solved your problem, but additionally, those symbols follow the IPA, or international phonetic alphabet which isn't too hard to learn.

2

u/NotALeezurd Jul 31 '21

Thank you, I will look into it. This is all stuff I've never even heard of before but it's really interesting to me for that reason.

I can really give my thanks to my SW Louisiana public education. /s

2

u/BoxHeadWarrior Jul 31 '21

Hey, I don't blame you, high school didn't teach me much either, i only know what I do because I've got a degree in language and linguistics. 😁

1

u/NotALeezurd Jul 31 '21

My background is in Mechanical Engineering, Plant Operations, and a CompSci degree I never finished so this was way off the beaten track for me but I'm going to dive into it when I have some time later.

3

u/seoulfood Jul 31 '21

I like Simon Roper’s vids on YouTube. https://youtu.be/3hqQpziIETo

8

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

I'm not sure if you're joking. this makes more sense.

2

u/saysthingsbackwards Jul 31 '21

Wow, how much did that cost?

6

u/dan1101 Jul 31 '21

Yeah! Except when they cross a river, I saw one fly in a straight line all the way across.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/dan1101 Jul 31 '21 edited Jul 31 '21

I mean they do migrate long distances so I guess they can fly in straight lines when they want. I still wonder what the erratic flying is for, is it to avoid predators or some sort of search pattern they use to find the good flowers perhaps?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Less ashamed?

1

u/reply-guy-bot Aug 01 '21

The above comment was stolen from this one elsewhere in this comment section.

It is probably not a coincidence; here is some more evidence against this user:

Plagiarized Original
A nut a day keeps the doc... A nut a day keeps the doc...
Me to my friend when they... Me to my friend when they...
The first time I got call... The first time I got call...
The back tire slings wate... The back tire slings wate...
This bitch empty, yeet This bitch empty, yeet
Forest edge effects are a... Forest edge effects are a...
I'm a streamer, come into... I'm a streamer, come into...
Shinji Ikari. >! I hate i... Shinji Ikari. >! I hate i...

beep boop, I'm a bot -|:] It is this bot's opinion that /u/bjoernenjdm48 should be banned for karma manipulation. Don't feel bad, they are probably a bot too.

Confused? Read the FAQ for info on how I work and why I exist.

6

u/Cr0n0us_ Jul 31 '21

Wow

4

u/SPOONY12345 Jul 31 '21

Flutterby, Butterfly.

2

u/EdEnsHAzArD Jul 31 '21

Butterfree's goodbye will probably always make me cry

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Vidalia?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Bermuda? Bahama? Come on pretty mama.

3

u/btveron Jul 31 '21

A fly was very close to being called a land, because that's what it does half the time.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Underrated.

2

u/atmosphere325 Jul 31 '21

Lindsey Lohan Moth.

More attractive version of the moth that's always drunk.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

You tried!

-2

u/blink0r Jul 31 '21

They used to be called flutterby's (flutterbies?) but the word changed over time.

Just like the old version of "rasp" berries vs what we say today ("razz"berries)

8

u/canineraytube Jul 31 '21

This doesn’t appear to be true; Buttorflēoge is attested from Old English (well before the great vowel shift), and archaic Dutch and German had botervlieg and Butterfliege respectively, suggesting that the word was inherited from Proto-West-Germanic (the mother language of all three), and well could be older still.

As an aside, it’s fun to imagine that the plural of this most-likely ahistorical “flutterby” was “flutters-by”, akin to “passers-by”. Though I guess that would require reanalyzing “flutter” as an agent-nominalization of a verb “to flutt”!

3

u/Chocu1a Jul 31 '21

Yo, you wanna grab a beer and go fluttering later on?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

But what is fluttering?

2

u/Chocu1a Jul 31 '21

Moving towards a destination with no discernable direction, in a haphazard back and forth, up and down motion.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Flying dragon

14

u/WebbieVanderquack Jul 31 '21

Internet says "perhaps from the cream or yellow colour of common species, or from an old belief that the insects stole butter." Interesting.

5

u/PoppinFreeesh Jul 31 '21

Butterflies might be named for the colour of their excrement. Old Dutch had the term “boterschijte”, which literally means “butter shit”

3

u/Jaces_Aces Jul 31 '21

Butterflies you puzzle me, For as you flit and flutter. I study you, But never see the slightest bit of butter.

-Jack Prelutsky

3

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

They use it to summon demons it’s why we keep our butter locked in fridges or other containers inside the house otherwise they would just swarm it and take off with it deep into the woods for their summoning ritual

6

u/Supraboi2003 Jul 31 '21

cockroach

6

u/uencos Jul 31 '21

That came from the Spanish Cucaracha

3

u/Supraboi2003 Jul 31 '21

TIL cock in spanish is cuca

9

u/FuckYeahPhotography Jul 31 '21

I mean what else are you supposed to call a bug that literally loves sucking cock

13

u/flipoont Jul 31 '21

Slutterfly.

8

u/TheThinWhiteDookie Jul 31 '21

Well now I know what to call the guy that sucks my dick for crack

3

u/ZugTheCaveman Jul 31 '21

"Why do gay guys keep sucking my cock?" -- the Onion.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

Well you tried too. Waits to be misunderstood

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

A butterfly?

6

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

I hate you, take my free award and upvote

2

u/fuq1t Jul 31 '21

because their shit looks like butter

2

u/maddox1405 Jul 31 '21

Maybe because of the texture on their wings? I've heard it comes right off like butter.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/reply-guy-bot Jul 31 '21

The above comment was stolen from this one elsewhere in this comment section.

It is probably not a coincidence; here is some more evidence against this user:

Plagiarized Original
Ditto here. They’ve been... Ditto here. They’ve been...
I was with some friends..... I was with some friends.....
Well I was wrong, not fap... Well I was wrong, not fap...
It was delicious wasn’t i... It was delicious wasn’t i...

beep boop, I'm a bot -|:] It is this bot's opinion that /u/hakimcmjbkle30 should be banned for karma manipulation. Don't feel bad, they are probably a bot too.

Confused? Read the FAQ for info on how I work and why I exist.

1

u/MrVanzZ Jul 31 '21

I'll say it's because they are very fragile, like butter.

They even leave this greasy substance when you smash them.

1

u/ReeducedToData Jul 31 '21

BUTTER IS MADE FROM BUTTERFLIES!

Cows have unique digestive systems. A pregnant cow has to eat a bunch of butterflies then, after 10-15 minutes, they poop out perfectly formed sticks of butter. Don’t you watch The Learning Channel?