Meanings
nounbutterwort (plural butterworts)
plural butterworts
- Any plant of the insectivorous genus Pinguicula.
As he climbed up through the golden gorse he would look for orchids amongst the commoner cotton grass, bog asphodel and butterwort[.]
1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 20 - common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)
Origin
From butter + wort: perhaps from the ability of the leaves to coagulate milk, or from their peculiar sliminess.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish yökönlehti
- yökönlehtiplant of the genus Pinguicula
French grassette
- grassetteplant of the genus Pinguicula
German Fettkraut
- Fettkrautplant of the genus Pinguicula
Irish bodán meascáin, leith uisce
- bodán meascáinplant of the genus Pinguicula
- leith uisceplant of the genus Pinguicula
- liath uisceplant of the genus Pinguicula
Japanese 虫取菫
- 虫取菫 (mushitosurime)plant of the genus Pinguicula
Polish tłustosz
- tłustoszplant of the genus Pinguicula
Romanian foaie-grasă, îngrășătoare
- foaie-grasăplant of the genus Pinguicula
- îngrășătoareplant of the genus Pinguicula
Russian жиря́нка
- жиря́нка (žirjánka)plant of the genus Pinguicula
Swedish tätört
- tätörtplant of the genus Pinguicula
Welsh tafod y gors
- tafod y gorsplant of the genus Pinguicula
Cite this entry
APA
butterwort. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterwort
MLA
“butterwort.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterwort. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “butterwort,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butterwort.
Source: butterwort on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.