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butt¹

(bŭt)

v. butt·ed, butt·ing, butts

v.tr.

To hit or push against with the head or horns; ram.

v.intr.

1. To hit or push something with the head or horns.

2. To project forward or out.

A push or blow with the head or horns.

Phrasal Verbs:

butt in

1. To interfere or meddle in other people's affairs.

2. To interrupt the conversation or activity of other people.

3. To move into a line of people or things out of turn.

butt out Slang

To disengage from a matter involving another person.

[Middle English butten, from Old French bouter, to strike, of Germanic origin; see bhau- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

butter n.

butt²

(bŭt)

tr. & intr.v. butt·ed, butt·ing, butts

To join or be joined end to end; abut.

1. A butt joint.

2. A butt hinge.

[Middle English butten, from Anglo-Norman butter (variant of Old French bouter; see BUTT¹) and from but, end; see BUTT⁴.]

butt³

(bŭt)

1. One that serves as an object of ridicule or contempt: I was the butt of their jokes.

a. A target, as in archery or riflery.

b. butts A target range.

c. An obstacle behind a target for stopping the shot.

3. An embankment or hollow used as a blind by hunters of wildfowl.

a. Archaic A goal.

b. Obsolete A bound; a limit.

[Middle English butte, target, from Old French, from but, goal, end, target; see BUTT⁴.]

butt⁴

(bŭt)

1. The larger or thicker end of an object: the butt of a rifle.

a. An unburned end, as of a cigarette.

b. Informal A cigarette.

3. A short or broken remnant; a stub.

4. Informal The buttocks; the rear end.

adv.

Slang Very. Used as an intensive: butt ugly; butt expensive.

[Middle English butte, from Old French but, end, of Germanic origin.]

butt⁵

(bŭt)

1. A large cask.

2. A unit of volume equal to two hogsheads, usually the equivalent of 126 US gallons (about 477 liters).

[Middle English, from Old French boute, from Vulgar Latin *butta, from Late Latin buttis; see BOTTLE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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