butcher

[boo ch-er] /ˈbʊtʃ ər/
noun
1.
a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.
2.
a person who slaughters certain animals, or who dresses the flesh of animals, fish, or poultry, for food or market.
3.
a person guilty of brutal or indiscriminate slaughter or murder.
4.
a vendor who hawks newspapers, candy, beverages, etc., as on a train, at a stadium, etc.
verb (used with object)
5.
to slaughter or dress (animals, fish, or poultry) for market.
6.
to kill indiscriminately or brutally.
7.
to bungle; botch:
to butcher a job.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English bocher < Anglo-French; Old French bo(u)chier, equivalent to bo(u)c he-goat (< Gaulish *bucco-; compare Old Irish boc, Welsh bwch; akin to buck1) + -ier -ier2 (see -er2)
Related forms
butcherer, noun
unbutchered, adjective
Synonyms
3. killer, cutthroat. 5, 6. See slaughter.

butch

[boo ch] /bʊtʃ/
noun
1.
butch haircut.
2.
Slang. a lesbian, especially one notably masculine in manner or appearance.
adjective
3.
Slang.
  1. (of a girl or woman) having traits of personality, dress, behavior, or appearance usually associated with males.
  2. (of a male) decidedly or exaggeratedly masculine in manner or appearance.
Origin
1940-45; apparently from the proper name
Examples from the web for butcher
  • It's a sausage made from meat from the head and basically any other part of the pig that the butcher wants.
  • The stew is made of meat donated by a local wholesale butcher and whatever vegetables are around.
  • The utensils necessary to prepare the dish are an iron or an enamel kettle, a butcher knife, and a long-handled iron spoon.
  • When professionals butcher an animal, they make it look fairly simple.
  • Ask around at specialty butcher stores, or try mail-order services.
  • For uniform texture, ask your butcher to grind it twice for you.
  • The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker don't have tenure.
  • Then they played the trill of the wrens singing immediately after the butcher-birds.
  • Ask the butcher to weigh the top then get the thing spinning and weigh it again.
  • Food will be paid for electronically, and no longer will you need to meet with your butcher, bakery or cashier.
British Dictionary definitions for butcher

butcher

/ˈbʊtʃə/
noun
1.
a retailer of meat
2.
a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market
3.
an indiscriminate or brutal murderer
4.
a person who destroys, ruins, or bungles something
verb (transitive)
5.
to slaughter or dress (animals) for meat
6.
to kill indiscriminately or brutally
7.
to make a mess of; botch; ruin
Word Origin
C13: from Old French bouchier, from bouc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; see buck1; compare Welsh bwch he-goat

butch

/bʊtʃ/
adjective
1.
(of a woman or man) markedly or aggressively masculine
noun
2.
a lesbian who is noticeably masculine
3.
a strong rugged man
Word Origin
C18: back formation from butcher
Word Origin and History for butcher
n.

c.1300, from Anglo-French boucher, from Old French bochier "butcher, executioner" (12c., Modern French boucher), probably literally "slaughterer of goats," from bouc "male goat," from Frankish *bukk or some other Germanic source (see buck (n.1)) or Celtic *bukkos "he-goat." Figurative sense of "brutal murderer" is attested from 1520s. Butcher-knife attested from 18c. Related: Butcherly.

v.

1560s, from butcher (n.). Related: Butchered; butchering. Re-nouned 1640s as butcherer.

butch

n.

"tough youth," 1902, first attested in nickname of U.S. outlaw George Cassidy (1866-?), probably an abbreviation of butcher (n.). Sense of "aggressive lesbian" is 1940s.

Slang definitions & phrases for butcher

butcher

noun
  1. A surgeon, esp an incompetent one (mid1800s+)
  2. A brutal and sanguinary ruler: They called Bokassa a worse butcher than Amin (1529+)
  3. : As a carpenter I'm a butcher
verb

To do crudely and clumsily what should be done with finesse: I butcher their language/ I try to paint but butcher the canvas (1640s+)


butch

adjective

: short round blonde of butch self-sufficiency

noun
  1. A rough, strong man; tough •Often used as a nickname (1902+)
  2. An aggressive lesbian; bulldyke, dyke: Even if she has turned butch on me and twisted the family name on you (1940s+ Homosexuals)

[fr butcher]