Back to all words

Butter

4 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means a pale yellow fat made by churning cream

Where does the word "butter" come from? It comes from Greek boutyron, passing through Latin and Old English before entering English (1500s).

boutyron→butyrum→butere→butter

Greek · ancient

possibly 'bous', cow, plus 'tyros', cheese; Greeks thought of it as a foreign, barbarian food

Latin · ancient

Romans used it mainly as an ointment, not a food

Old English · medieval

borrowed early into the West Germanic languages, like German 'Butter'

English · 1500s

"a dairy spread"

'butter up', to flatter, dates from the 1800s

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom

Read the full story

Butter’s story begins in Greek: boutyron meant “cow cheese.” Possibly 'bous', cow, plus 'tyros', cheese; Greeks thought of it as a foreign, barbarian food. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as butyrum. Romans used it mainly as an ointment, not a food. From there it passed into Old English as butere by medieval. Borrowed early into the West Germanic languages, like German 'Butter'. It reached English by 1500s as butter. 'butter up', to flatter, dates from the 1800s. Today, butter means a pale yellow fat made by churning cream.