from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Button \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.
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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.
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3. A bud; a germ of a plant. --Shak.
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4. A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated,
turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, as a
door.
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5. A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a
crucible, after fusion.
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{Button hook}, a hook for catching a button and drawing it
through a buttonhole, as in buttoning boots and gloves.
{Button shell} (Zool.), 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.
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