Part 890

But"ter*y, n.; pl. Butteries (&?;). [OE. botery, botry; cf. LL. botaria wine vessel; also OE. botelerie, fr. F. bouteillerie, fr. boutellie bottle. Not derived from butter. See Bottle a hollow vessel, Butt a cask.] 1. An apartment in a house where butter, milk and other provisions are kept.

All that need a cool and fresh temper, as cellars, pantries, and butteries, to the north. Sir H. Wotton.

2. A room in some English colleges where liquors, fruit, and refreshments are kept for sale to the students.

And the major Oxford kept the buttery bar. E. Hall.

3. A cellar in which butts of wine are kept. Weale.

Buttery hatch, a half door between the buttery or kitchen and the hall, in old mansions, over which provisions were passed. Wright.

Butt" hinge` (&?;). See 1st Butt, 10.

But"-thorn` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The common European starfish (Asterias rubens).

But"ting (&?;), n. An abuttal; a boundary.

Without buttings or boundings on any side. Bp. Beveridge.

But"ting joint`. A joint between two pieces of timber or wood, at the end of one or both, and either at right angles or oblique to the grain, as the joints which the struts and braces form with the truss posts; -- sometimes called abutting joint.

Butt" joint` (&?;). A joint in which the edges or ends of the pieces united come squarely together instead of overlapping. See 1st Butt, 8.

But"tock (&?;), n. [From Butt an end.] 1. The part at the back of the hip, which, in man, forms one of the rounded protuberances on which he sits; the rump.

2. (Naut.) The convexity of a ship behind, under the stern. Mar. Dict.

But"ton (&?;), n. [OE. boton, botoun, F. bouton button, bud, prop. something pushing out, fr. bouter to push. See Butt an end.] 1. A knob; a small ball; a small, roundish mass.

2. A catch, of various forms and materials, used to fasten together the different parts of dress, by being attached to one part, and passing through a slit, called a buttonhole, in the other; -- used also for ornament.

3. A bud; a germ of a plant. Shak.

4. A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, as a door.

5. A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a crucible, after fusion.

Button hook, a hook for catching a button and drawing it through a buttonhole, as in buttoning boots and gloves. -- Button shell (Zoöl.), a small, univalve marine shell of the genus Rotella. -- Button snakeroot. (Bot.) (a) The American composite genus Liatris, having rounded buttonlike heads of flowers. (b) An American umbelliferous plant with rigid, narrow leaves, and flowers in dense heads. -- Button tree (Bot.), a genus of trees (Conocarpus), furnishing durable timber, mostly natives of the West Indies. -- To hold by the button, to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; to buttonhole.

But"ton, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttoned (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Buttoning (&?;).] [OE. botonen, OF. botoner, F. boutonner. See Button, n.] 1. To fasten with a button or buttons; to inclose or make secure with buttons; -- often followed by up.

He was a tall, fat, long-bodied man, buttoned up to the throat in a tight green coat. Dickens.

2. To dress or clothe. [Obs.] Shak.

But"ton, v. i. To be fastened by a button or buttons; as, the coat will not button.

But"ton*ball` (&?;), n. (Bot.) See Buttonwood.

But"ton*bush` (&?;), n. (Bot.) A shrub (Cephalanthus occidentalis) growing by the waterside; -- so called from its globular head of flowers. See Capitulum.

But"ton*hole` (&?;), n. The hole or loop in which a button is caught.

But"ton*hole`, v. t. To hold at the button or buttonhole; to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; as, he buttonholed me a quarter of an hour.