Butter Means Cow Cheese in Greek
Butter is churned cream. Its Greek name literally combines the words for cow and cheese.
Butter is the fat separated from cream by churning. The Greek name is beautifully blunt: *boutyron* combines *bous*, cow, with *tyros*, cheese — cow cheese. Greeks and Romans considered butter a foreign product used mainly as an ointment, and it was northern Europe that made it a staple food.
- Churned dairy fat. *Salted butter.*
- To spread butter on. *Butter the bread.*
- Butter up — to flatter. *He buttered up the boss.*
- Nut paste. *Peanut butter.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | butter | Melted butter. |
| Verb | butter | Butter the tin. |
| Adjective | buttery | A buttery sauce. |
| Compound | buttermilk | Buttermilk pancakes. |
| Compound | butterfly | A cabbage butterfly. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Butter melts at body temperature.Which is why it feels rich on the tongue.
- He tried to butter her up.Flatter.
- Butter would not melt in her mouth.Said of someone looking deceptively innocent.
Butter facts
- About 80 per cent fat — the legal minimum in many countries
- Churning — breaks the fat globules so they clump together
- Buttermilk — the liquid left after churning
- Clarified butter — milk solids removed, so it keeps and fries better
- Butterfly — possibly named from the belief that the insects stole milk and butter
From Old English *butere*, from Latin *butyrum*, from Greek *boutyron*, from *bous*, cow, and *tyros*, cheese.
Is a butterfly named after butter?
Probably. One theory links it to folklore about insects stealing milk and butter; another to the yellow colour of some species.
What is clarified butter?
Butter with the water and milk solids removed. It keeps longer and can be heated to a higher temperature without burning.