buttercup

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any of various plants of the genus Ranunculus

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

butterflower, butter-flower, crowfoot, goldcup, kingcup

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