摘要：Have you ever wondered why the word "butter" means "黄油" in Chinese, while "butterfly" is translated as "蝴蝶"? These two words look

Have you ever wondered why the word "butter" means "黄油" in Chinese, while "butterfly" is translated as "蝴蝶"? These two words look similar, but their meanings are completely different. Let's explore their interesting origins.

你是否好奇过，为什么 "butter" 这个词在中文里是 "黄油"，而 "butterfly" 却被翻译成 "蝴蝶"？这两个词看起来很相似，但意思却完全不同。让我们一起探索它们有趣的起源吧。

First, let's talk about "butter". The word "butter" comes from the Old English word "butere", which itself comes from the Latin "butyrum". It refers to a yellowish food made from milk, usually used for cooking or spreading on bread. The color and texture of butter are closely related to its name—"yellow" in many languages is associated with this word, just like "黄油" directly means "yellow oil" in Chinese.

首先，我们来谈谈 "butter"。"butter" 这个词来源于古英语 "butere"，而古英语又源自拉丁语 "butyrum"。它指的是一种由牛奶制成的淡黄色食物，通常用于烹饪或涂在面包上。黄油的颜色和质地与其名称密切相关 —— 在许多语言中，"黄色" 都与这个词有关联，就像中文里的 "黄油" 直接意为 "黄色的油脂" 一样。

Now, let's look at "butterfly". Why does this flying insect have "butter" in its name? There's an old legend. Long ago, people noticed that some butterflies with yellow wings often flew around milk or butter, maybe because they were attracted to the smell. So they started calling these insects "butterflies"—combining "butter" and "fly" (which means 飞虫 fēi chóng in Chinese). Over time, the word became the common name for all such insects, even those without yellow wings.But this is just one story.

现在，我们来看 "butterfly"。为什么这种会飞的昆虫名字里有 "butter" 呢？有一个古老的传说。很久以前，人们注意到一些长着黄色翅膀的蝴蝶经常在牛奶或黄油周围飞舞，也许是被气味吸引。于是他们开始把这些昆虫叫做 "butterflies"—— 把 "butter" 和 "fly"（中文意思是 "飞虫"）结合在一起。随着时间的推移，这个词成为了所有这类昆虫的通用名称，即使是那些没有黄色翅膀的蝴蝶也是如此。但是这只是一种说法。

So, although "butter" and "butterfly" share the word "butter", they come from different stories. Language is full of such interesting connections—next time you see these words, you'll remember their special origins!

所以，尽管 "butter" 和 "butterfly" 都包含 "butter" 这个词，它们却来自不同的故事。语言中充满了这样有趣的联系 —— 下次你看到这些词时，就会想起它们特别的起源！

来源：哎呀喂英语