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Glite Dictionary
sulfur butterfly

sulfur butterfly

6.7
A small flying insect with wide yellow or orange wings
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌlfər ˈbʌtərflaɪ/
  • US
translation icon : mariposa azufre
  • The vibrant colors of the sulfur butterflies brightened the field, making it a beautiful sight.

Examples

  • While hiking in the mountains, I saw several sulfur butterflies dancing around the wildflowers.

  • It's a host plant for sulfur butterflies.

    Blog text (1)

  • In spring, many people enjoy watching sulfur butterflies flutter by in parks and gardens.

Synonyms

butterfly
vssulfur butterfly
160 1.0

A small insect with a thin body and bright wings that flies in daylight

is a narrower subgroup usually yellow or orange in color

Surface Forms

sulfur butterfly singular
sulfur butterflies plural
sulphur butterflies plural
sulphur butterfly singular

Morphology

sulfur + butterfly

The compound meaning is directly derivable from 'sulfur' (a yellow substance) + 'butterfly' (the insect), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a yellow/orange butterfly. This color+animal naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows transparent compositional morphology, making the expression predictable for B1 learners.

Etymology

Sulfur butterfly gets its name from the bright yellow color of the insect because people thought it looked like the yellow substance sulfur. That's why the name means 'a yellow or orange butterfly'.