butterfly

A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring.

(medicine, attributive) A use of surgical tape, cut into thin strips and placed across an open wound to hold it closed.

(swimming) The butterfly stroke.

Any of several plane curves that look like a butterfly; see Butterfly curve (transcendental) and Butterfly curve (algebraic).

(in the plural) A sensation of excited anxiety felt in the stomach.

(now rare) Someone seen as being unserious and (originally) dressed gaudily; someone flighty and unreliable.

(finance) A combination of four options of the same type at three strike prices giving limited profit and limited risk.

(alternate history) A random change in an aspect of the timeline seemingly unrelated to the primary point of divergence, resulting from the butterfly effect.

(sports) A type of stretch in which one sits on the ground with the legs folded into a shape like that of a butterfly's wings, slightly rocking them up and down, resembling the wings fluttering.