buttercup
UK /ˈbʌt.ə.kʌp/ · US /ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/ noun
Forms buttercups
- noun Any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.
- noun Any flower of the genus Narcissus; a daffodil.
- noun An affectionate or ironic term of address.
Synonyms
butterflower crowfoot goldballs goldcup gold-knop ranunculus butter-flower kingcup
Etymology
From butter + cup. Both sense 1 and 2 are from the flowers' association with butter, from their yellow colour. Compare butterflower for a similar derivation; outside of English, compare Dutch boterbloem, German Butterblume.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A plant of the genus Ranunculus, or crowfoot, particularly R. bulbosus, with bright yellow flowers; --called also butterflower, golden cup, and kingcup. It is the cuckoobud of Shakespeare.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buttercup”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details