English
butte
Butte comes from French butte ‘mound’, from but ‘aim, target’, and ultimately from Old French butte.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400butte‘mound, knoll, target’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400but‘aim, goal, end, target’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘mark, goal’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘aim, target’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbutte‘mound’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400butte‘mound, knoll, target’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400but‘aim, goal, end, target’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘mark, goal’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘aim, target’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbutte‘mound’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013same form
Earliest quotation: 2013, John Grotzinger, The world of Mars: “Those multitoned buttes and mesas [of the Grand Canyon],…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘deep’
deep, bottom, depth, dumb, dave, fundamental, dip, deaf, bot, dove, dub, bourne, typhus, fonds, profundity, doof, fundus, 20 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰnós ‘bottom’
fund, foundation, founder, fond, 12 more
through Old French but ‘aim, goal, end, target’
through French but ‘aim, target’
Today it means
noun An isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French butte / butte