Slog - Comments on The New Nature http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature It will happen: Thinking of this Nabokovian insect, how in the world did our ancestors pull the word "butterfly" out of the Old English word "flutterbye"? The original word for the insect makes sense; the current one, butterfly, makes no sense. I suspect dyslexia is behind this terrible change, this terrible loss of a great word, "flutterbye."... Copyright 2008 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:43:41 -0800 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:29:33 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Matt Fuckin' Hickey The word's not lost: I vividly remember my 8th grade science teacher stating that he preferred the name "Flutterby", and that's what we called them the whole year.

]]> Matt Fuckin' Hickey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861148 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861148 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:01:16 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

The word "butterfly" is not a corruption of "flutterbye". It's from "butter" + "fly", and no one really knows why.

C'mon, Charles, you insult Nabokov when you associate him with this kind of idiocy.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861156 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861156 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:05:14 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Isn't one supposed to associate Nabokov with twelve-year-old girls?

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861163 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861163 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:08:51 -0800 Comment by Fnarf No.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861164 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861164 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:10:34 -0800 Comment by DaiBando And what does the Nike swoosh have to do with anything? Chuck, this is probably your most misinformed, obtuse posting in weeks.

]]> DaiBando http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861168 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861168 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:11:10 -0800 Comment by NaFun From http://www.takeourword.com/arc_logi.html#butterfl


Where does the word butterfly originate?

One common yet erroneous explanation for this word's origin is that it comes from flutterby. What we do know, instead, is that this word is very old (pre-8th century). It was originally buturfliogæ, a compound of butere "butter" and fleoge "fly". Why butter? Some suggest that it was due to many butterflies being yellow in color, like butter. Others believe it is based upon the yellow excrement of butterflies. Still others hold to the notion that butterflies were thought to land in kitchens and drink milk or butter left uncovered (this, interestingly, is supported by a German word for butterfly, milchdieb "milk-thief").

]]> NaFun http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861176 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861176 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:17:11 -0800 Comment by Irena My goodness, Mudede, you are channelling old man Webster himself! Why must the word make such boringly logical sense?
"Butterfly" creates a delightfully incongruous image, suggesting the sense of the actual creature only through onomatopoeia. The word is a tiny poem unto itself. And considering the mysterious nature of this little beastie, it is appropriate that it have a mysterious name, don't you think?

]]> Irena http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861192 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861192 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:25:11 -0800 Comment by brandon butterfly is infinitely cooler than flutterby, and not at all illogical. it is after all a "fly" of some sort, no?

]]> brandon http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861203 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861203 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:32:35 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe What about Butterball chicken? Where did that come from, Charles?

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861209 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861209 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:35:36 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Mr. Poe apparently isn't familiar with "ball butter".

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861214 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861214 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:38:07 -0800 Comment by Irena !!!

Mr. Poe apparently takes showers, Fnarf. Something to consider?

]]> Irena http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861223 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861223 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:43:19 -0800 Comment by Jason Petersen Charles, here's a process (took me five seconds) you can follow before posting falsehoods again.

1: Open up your OED
2: Type in "Butterfly"
3: Read the etymology section
4: Don't make up shit about flutterbye

In the future, ask yourself if the only reason you believe something is true is because it's a pleasant sounding theory.

Just be glad we don't call them "schmetterling". God I hate insects.

Furthermore, the made up flutterbye->butterfly transition could be a case of metathesis (if you stretch it), a well known phonological transformation... Just like "ask"->"aks" (except I didn't pull that example out of my ass).

]]> Jason Petersen http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861231 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861231 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:51:01 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Oh, come on, Irena. There's a better joke in there than that!

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861237 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861237 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:54:40 -0800 Comment by Irena Fnarf, you charming old windbag, don't be so contrary. It's bad for your heart.

]]> Irena http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861284 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861284 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:16:34 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe Fnarf is grumpy and old. Leave him alone. He's harmless.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861300 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861300 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:23:46 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Bile is the only thing keeping me alive. And Almond Roca.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861343 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861343 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:41:20 -0800 Comment by elenchos You imbeciles are so distracted by your attempts to look smart you didn't read the headline, the first line, or look at the picture. Or think about what it means if a corporation puts it's logo into an animal's DNA. Who could stop them? Who would?

Think about the terrible loss of nature and what that might have to do with calling something that flutters by a flutterbye. See, there are a bunch of trivial facts that you can stuff in your head, and then there is understanding.

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861409 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861409 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:16:23 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Uh-huh.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861435 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861435 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:28:17 -0800 Comment by Bison "Chuck, this is probably your most misinformed, obtuse posting in weeks."

There's a lot of competition for that title.

]]> Bison http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861458 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861458 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:37:28 -0800 Comment by Irena How the HELL do you put a logo into an animal's DNA? Is it even possible? And if it were, what's the likelihood a company would risk the negative publicity? Sounds like a pretty serious investment to me.

The implications are disturbing, elenchos, but I'm not panicking yet.

]]> Irena http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861514 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861514 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:56:40 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Presumably you would just insert it using genetic modification techniques. But I'm not sure what that would get you; if it's encoded in the DNA, no one could see it, and while your creation would be patentable it wouldn't have any utility.

To change the DNA so as to DISPLAY THE LOGO visibly on the animal sounds a hell of a lot more difficult -- and just as pointless. Would a pig with a Nike swoosh PAINTED on it be effective advertising? No.

There is an ethical issue with genetically modified organisms, which, despite the scaremongers, has little to do with "danger, danger", and everything to do with the ethics of patenting organisms. For instance, GM rice and GM corn both exist, and people who plant it are legally prevented from harvesting the seeds and replanting the next season, as has been standard practice for thousands of years. You have to buy again, every year. That's an ethical quandary, not a scientific one, and can and should be addressed. I personally would support a multinational effort to ban the patenting of plants and animals.

But none of that has anything to do with butterflies, flutterbyes, ludicrous falsehoods about language, or Nabokov.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861544 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861544 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:14:47 -0800 Comment by Madge-YoursoakingINIT! Oh Pretty Pretty! I want to stick a pin in it!

]]> Madge-YoursoakingINIT! http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861695 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c861695 Arts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:22:56 -0800 Comment by idaho Shouldn't that be "flutter by"?

]]> idaho http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c862089 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c862089 Arts Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:19:02 -0800 Comment by Suryo @6:
Though I don't know the expression Milchdieb for butterfly, I know that the common German word Schmetterling comes from Schmandling ("little sour cream eater"). Supports the idea that at least in the Germanic cultures, butterflies were associated with dairy products.

And dyslexia? WTF, do you think peasants in Olde England could read at all?

]]> Suryo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c862112 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c862112 Arts Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:14:25 -0800 Comment by dgqa jwvrgfkoy nqcgldpye yxrvfag ykwbgjr neuxwfam uelatkyb xvrmzgat rnsodc

]]> dgqa jwvrgfkoy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872211 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872211 Arts Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:28:17 -0800 Comment by dgqa jwvrgfkoy nqcgldpye yxrvfag ykwbgjr neuxwfam uelatkyb xvrmzgat rnsodc

]]> dgqa jwvrgfkoy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872214 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872214 Arts Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:28:51 -0800 Comment by tpedz chnlk mnzgraw mwnvopdy otunxqysb qmyrxuvtg eznboukg trdsxgi ejhdcrq http://www.jpevd.ihsz.com

]]> tpedz chnlk http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872220 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/the_new_nature#c872220 Arts Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:29:33 -0800