Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BUT'TER-FLY, n. [so named from the color of a yellow species. Sax. buter-flege or butter-fleoge. See Fly.]

Papilio, a genus of insects, of the order of Lepidopters. They have four wings imbricated with a kind of downy scale; the tongue is convoluted in a spiral form; and the body is hairy. The species are numerous. Butterflies proceed from the chrysalids of caterpillars; caterpillars proceed from eggs deposited by butterflies; they then change into chrysalids, which produce butterflies, which again deposit their eggs.