Emily Dickinson Lexicon

butterfly (-'s, butterflies), n. [compound of OE 'fatty substance obtained from cream by churning' + OE 'winged insect'; see fly, n.] (webplay: caterpillars, change, chrysalids, insects, wings, yellow).

1. Imago; insect that has completed all stages of metamorphosis; [fig.] transformed creature; transfigured being; resurrected person.
2. Papilio; insect of the Lepidoptera order; slender-bodied insect with two pairs of broad beautiful colored wings; larvae that emerges from a cocoon as a delicate flying creature with knobbed antennae.
3. Golden clouds; glorious colors; bright lights moving on the horizon at dusk.
4. Larger insect; mid-sized flying entity.
5. Angelic creature; heavenly messenger; celestial courier.

button, n. [Fr. < L 'thrust, put forth'.] (webplay: feet, passed, small).

1. Round clothing fastener; [word play] disk; small ball; [fig.] orb; satellite; globe; planet; world.
2. Catch; closing knob; stud for fitting a shoe together.

button (buttoned), v. [see button, n.]

Fasten; close; secure; shut; put away; tuck down into; [fig.] bury; inter; entomb; lay to rest.

buttonhole, n. [button, n. + OE hol 'hollow place'.]

Loop; eyelet; grommet; clothing notch; fastening slit; small opening on a coat lapel; [fig.] custom; habit; common presentation; ordinary display; conventional usage; normal appearance.

buy (bought), v. [OE.] (webplay: acquire, day, dear, given, paying, praise, price, purchase, sell, shares, small, stock, worth).

1. Purchase; pay for (see Leviticus 25:15); [fig.] pluck; pick; select; take away; choose for one's self.
2. Cause; elicit; induce; evoke; stimulate; draw out from someone.
3. Experience; fulfill; actualize; accomplish; achieve; reach; (see Revelation 3:18).
4. Get for a price; attain in exchange for something; [fig.] accommodate; facilitate; make happen more easily.
5. Order; requisition by mail from a sales catalog.
6. Cover the costs; fulfill the covenant; honor the contract; comply with the agreement; make good on the promise; [fig.] redeem; deliver; provide salvation; (see Ruth 4:4).
7. Obtain; acquire; procure; receive; pick up; (see Isaiah 55:1).
8. Ransom; expiate; atone for; save by sacrifice; rescue from destruction.
9. Appraise; evaluate; appreciate; assign worth to.

buzz, n. [onomatopoeic] (webplay: bees, breath, wind).

1. Resonance; voiced hiss; noise of flies; [fig.] whisper; dissonance.
2. Hum; sibilant apian sound; [word play on “fuzz”] pollen; gold dust from flowers.

buzz, v. [see buzz, n.] (webplay: low, mouth, wind).

Hum; resonate; sibilate; hiss deeply; make a bee-like sound; [fig.] exhale; expire; release the breath between the tongue and the upper teeth.

by, adv. [see by, prep.]

1. Near; alongside; along the same way.
2. Onward; continuing forward; on its way.
3. Past; beyond; away from; out of reach of.
4. Finished; done with.
5. Aside; apart; to the side; [fig.] there; in that place; in those circumstances.
6. Coming towards, then going away from.
7. Pass; travel through.
8. Left over; to the side.
9. Phrase. “Passer by”: person who walks along the same route; one who approaches and then goes on.
10. Phrase. “By and by”: in due time; in the course of events.

by, prep. [OE.] (webplay: battles, “day by day”, fire, force, good, great, heaven, hour, house, land, line, live, longer, “pass by”, present, risen, rules, sea, space, “stands by”, sun, “swear by”, time, water, work, “year by year”).

1. For; according to; in the opinion of.
2. As much as; in the quantity of.
3. Using; through means of.
4. Because of; as a result of; [agent marker for passive constructions.]
5. In accordance with; in conjunction with; as a result of; on the basis of.
6. From the action of; with the agency of.
7. In increments of.
8. Employing; in use of.
9. After; following in succession.
10. Contiguous to; parallel with; in contrast with.
11. Upon.
12. In the course of; in the process of.
13. Beside; near; next to; close to; in the proximity of.
14. On; according to; as shown on.
15. Along; through.
16. In; during; at the time of.
17. Phrase. “By way of/by means of”: through; using.
18. Phrase. “By no means”: never; no way.
19. Phrase. “By far”: easily; without question.

bye, interjection.

1. [Contraction of 'God be with you'; see good, adj.] Farewell; adieu; good going; prosperous voyage; fare thee well.
2. Phrase. “Bye and bye”: eventually; presently; soon; in a short time after.