but·ter   Pronunciation Key  (btr)
n.
  1. A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food.
  2. Any of various substances similar to butter, especially:
    1. A spread made from fruit, nuts, or other foods: apple butter.
    2. A vegetable fat having a nearly solid consistency at ordinary temperatures.

[Middle English butere, from Old English, from Latin btrum, from Greek boutron : bous, cow; see gwou- in Indo-European Roots + tros, cheese; see teu- in Indo-European Roots.]
 
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


butter

\But"ter\ (b[u^]t"t[~e]r), n. [OE. botere, butter, AS. butere, fr. L. butyrum, Gr. boy`tyron; either fr. boy`s ox, cow + tyro`s cheese; or, perhaps, of Scythian origin. Cf. Cow.] 1. An oily, unctuous substance obtained from cream or milk by churning.

2. Any substance resembling butter in degree of consistence, or other qualities, especially, in old chemistry, the chlorides, as butter of antimony, sesquichloride of antimony; also, certain concrete fat oils remaining nearly solid at ordinary temperatures, as butter of cacao, vegetable butter, shea butter.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


butter

\But"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Buttering.] 1. To cover or spread with butter.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


butter

n 1: an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use 
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University