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Glite Dictionary
butterfly nut

butterfly nut

6.1
A metal piece with two flat wings you turn by hand to hold things together
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌtərflaɪ nʌt/
  • UK
translation icon : tuerca mariposa
  • After assembling the furniture, I noticed a loose butterfly nut and easily adjusted it without tools.

Examples

  • I tightened the butterfly nut by hand to secure the panel in place.

  • To make adjustments to the lights, we used a butterfly nut for a quick release.

  • I adjusted one of the butterfly nuts that protruded from the side of his neck and repeated the question.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

wing-nut
vsbutterfly nut
  • Specialized
5.3

A metal nut with two flat wings for tightening by hand

is the same but uses a more descriptive name referring to winglike shape
thumbnut
vsbutterfly nut
9.2

A small nut with ridged wings you can turn by hand

has two flat winglike projections rather than ridged or small ones

Surface Forms

butterfly nut singular
butterfly nuts plural

Morphology

butterfly + nut

The compound meaning is directly conveyed by 'butterfly' (denoting winglike shape) plus 'nut' (a threaded fastener), so the overall concept of a nut with wing-like projections is transparently derivable. Shape-based naming of tools is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer its form and manual function.

Etymology

Butterfly nut comes from the nut's two flat 'wings' that look like a butterfly, so you can turn the nut with your fingers. That's why the name means a nut you can tighten or loosen 'by hand' without tools.