butchn.adj.
/bʊtʃ/, U.S. /bʊtʃ/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
A. n.
1.
a. Chiefly U.S. regional (southern). A knife, esp. a butcher's or hunter's knife. Now rare.Chiefly as a component of the names given informally to various specific knives in a set.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > knife > [noun] > other knives
bollock knifec1400
paring knife1415
spudc1440
pricking-knifec1500
shaving-knife1530–1
by-knifec1570
heading knife1574
stock knife1582
drawing knife1583
bung-knife1592
weeding knife1598
drawing knife1610
heading knife1615
draw knife1679
dressing knife1683
redishing knife1688
mocotaugan1716
skinning knife1767
paper knife1789
draw shave1824
leaf-cutter1828
piece-knife1833
nut-pick1851
relic knife1854
butch1859
straw-knife1862
sportsman's companion1863
ulu1864
skinner1872
hacker1875
over-shave1875
stripping-knife1875
Stanley knife1878
flat-back1888
gauge-knife1888
tine-knife1888
plough1899
band-knife1926
X-Acto1943
shank1953
box cutter1955
ratchet knife1966
ratchet1975
1859 H. E. Taliaferro Fisher's River iv. 72 I..stepped from the top uv the clift inter the peach-tree..jerked out old Butch, and went to eatin' riproarin' fashion.
1861 Oconto (Wisconsin) Pioneer 13 July Whar's big butch, little butch, old case, cob handle, grannie's knife and the one I handled yesterday?
1870 J. C. Duval Adventures Big-Foot Wallace xii. 59 I loosened ‘old butch’ in the sheath, and rammed another bullet down ‘sweet lips’.
1904 M. Hughes 3 Years in Arkansaw 96 She only had six case-knives and they all had names... Their names were Big Butch, Little Butch, Old Case, Cob Handle, Granny's Knife, and the one that mother cut the gut with.
1925 Minutes 32nd Ann. Convent. United Daughters of Confederacy 33 The old squatter bade the stranger take choice of the family plate, which consisted of ‘Big Butch’, ‘Little Butch’, ‘Cob-handle’ and ‘Granny's knife’.
1947 Internat. Oil Worker 7 July 4/3 Back in Arkansas when I was a boy we had just three table knives, including old butch.
b. = butcher n. (in various senses); esp. a person who sells refreshments, newspapers, etc., in a train, theatre, etc. (= butcher n. 5). Now historical or disused.Earliest in news butch n. at news n. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > sellers of other specific things
soaper?c1225
oilman1275
smear-monger1297
upholder1333
basket-seller?1518
broom-seller?1518
upholster1554
rod-woman1602
starchwoman1604
pin manc1680
colour seller1685
potato-woman1697
printseller1700
rag-seller1700
Greenwich barber1785
sandboy1821
iceman1834
umbrella man1851
fly-boy1861
snuff-boxera1871
pedlar1872
snake-boy1873
bric-a-brac man1876
tinwoman1884
resurrectionist1888
butch1891
paanwallah1955
1891 Fort Worth (Texas) Gaz. 6 May 4/5 (headline) A news ‘butch’ who was unacquainted with the run.
1903 Wood-worker July 22/1 Colored pictures that we have bought from the train ‘butch’ for a nickel.
1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 14 Butch, doctor.
1935 J. Conroy World to Win vii. 57 I made a gut plunge on butch fer a batch o' mulligan meat.
1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 80/2 Butch,..a vendor.
1976 S. Weller Bastards I have Met 5 How about a few scraps for a stew, butch?
2013 Frankly in joepastry joepastry.com 11 Aug. 2013 (comment on blog, Internet Archive Wayback Machine 6 Sept. 2013) My dad worked as a ‘butch’ on the trains as a kid.
2. (A nickname for) a tough, violent, or physically fit man. Cf. sense B. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > heroism > [noun] > brave warrior > young brave
butch1873
lion's whelp1922
Action Man1988
1873 G. W. Perrie Buckskin Mose vii. 104 Amongst these [fellows] was Ben Painter, Luther Spencer,..Butch' Hasbrouck, and a number of others.
1887 N.Y. Times 24 Apr. 7/2 Ex-Alderman Jeremiah Murphy..is called ‘Butch’ from his apparent fondness for raw man.
1902 Pinkerton's Nat. Detective Agency Circular 3 Feb. George Parker, alias ‘Butch’ Cassidy, alias George Cassidy.
1930 D. Runyon Guys & Dolls (1932) 71 (title) Butch minds the baby.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §184.1 Buck, (Big) Bull, Butch, Spike, Spud, Wild Dick, nicknames for a ‘he-man’.
2009 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 8 Nov. a4 Back in the day they called him Butch. He earned the moniker because at the age of 8 he would beat up..the French-Canadian kids who tormented the rabbis.
3. Originally and chiefly U.S. A type of short haircut; a crew cut. Often more fully butch cut, butch haircut.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > cut or cropped > for men
butch1939
crew cut1940
whitewall1957
fade1986
Philly fade1986
high-top fade1988
high-top1989
1939 Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Reg. 18 Mar. 5/7 Nine out of ten junior girls agreed that they definitely did not like ‘butch’ haircuts.
1944 Daily Times Herald (Carroll, Iowa) 27 Mar. 3/3 On some boys a butch is becoming but on others I can't tell you.
1949 W. R. Burnett Asphalt Jungle (1950) v. 30 His white-blond hair disfigured by a butch haircut.
1989 T. C. Boyle If River was Whiskey 6 Torrey was..a nineteen-year-old with a red butch cut.
2004 P. Duval Rear View 125 She probably only wanted a buzz cut. You know, a butch cut.
4.
a. A lesbian whose appearance, behaviour, or identity is regarded as masculine. Frequently in explicit or implied contrast with femme (see femme n. 2b). Cf. sense B. 2.Sometimes spec. in the context of a lesbian relationship: a partner who takes on a more dominant or active role (either sexually or in a more general sense), which may be thought of as analogous to that traditionally or stereotypically associated with the male in a heterosexual relationship. Cf. stud n.2 7c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > female > whose appearance, behaviour, or identity is regarded as traditionally masculine
bulldagger1906
bull dyke1931
mantee1937
butch1947
1947 Vice Versa Oct. 11 At night I am just one thing:..a lesbian! I am a butch: I am a white starched shirt. Cuff links. A bow tie. I am close-cropped hair.
1954 San Francisco News 10 Sept. 1 Then some of the girls began wearing mannish clothing. They called themselves ‘Butches’.
1966 New Statesman 13 May 696/3 One of the femmes, secure in the loving protection of her butch.
1995 R. Das in K. Jay Dyke Life 229 I think sometimes if women can't tell I'm a butch it's partially because my body type is fairly feminine. But I've seen some pretty curvaceous butches.
2015 St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press (Nexis) 2 Dec. I have known femmes who did not trust other femmes and who would compete over butches—although not everyone loves those terms, of course.
b. In a male homosexual couple: a partner who takes on a more dominant or active role (either sexually or in a more general sense). Frequently contrasted with bitch (see bitch n.1 4b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male > who takes on a more dominant or active role
wolf1847
steamer1932
butch1963
1963 T. Morris & P. Morris Pentonville viii. 188 The active homosexual, the ‘butch’, is not so readily identifiable as his passive partner.
1971 F. Forsyth Day of Jackal xx. 333 He must be..how marvellous! A handsome young butch looking for an old queen to take him home.
1999 R. Trumbach in D. Higgs Queer Sites 107 Though one of them was the butch and the other was the bitch, Gerald detested drag.
2009 Observer (Nexis) 29 Mar. (Review section) 4 We're going to change the dynamic a bit, so I'm the butch and he's the bitch.
B. adj.
1.
a. Of a person: that is or resembles a tough, violent, or physically fit man (see sense A. 2). More generally: demonstrating qualities traditionally or stereotypically associated with masculinity, such as assertive or ostentatious toughness, rejection of sentimentality or sensitivity, etc.; macho; manly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [adjective]
outragea1325
violentc1384
boistousa1387
outrageousc1390
outraiousc1390
harageous?a1400
hetera1400
methelessc1400
ruffian1528
termagant1546
sore1565
ruffianly1570
boisterous1581
violousa1626
tory-rory1678
plug-ugly1857
radge1857
amok1868
tough1884
roughhouse1896
butch1939
shit-kicking1953
hard-ass1967
tasty1974
1939 Esquire Oct. 12/3 Two-fisted and very ‘butch’ truck drivers.
1941 W. H. Auden New Year Let. iii. 72 And culture on all fours to greet A butch and criminal élite.
1950 Neurotica Spring 37 I no longer remotely resembled a ‘butch’ fairy.
1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 14 May 18 The butch hero who comes on like a parody of Brando's Stanley Kowalski.
1995 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 Sept. d1 He'd rather be swimming, or body-surfing, and emerging..like a butch Venus from the sea.
2008 R. Moore & G. Owen My Word is my Bond (2009) xiv. 364 I..thought the idea of two butch guys booking themselves on a gay cruise by mistake was very funny.
b. Of an action, quality, or thing: characteristic of a tough, violent, or physically fit man; demonstrating qualities traditionally or stereotypically associated with masculinity (cf. sense B. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [adjective] > qualities of
manly?c1225
manlikec1480
virile1490
mannish1530
manful1655
manny1853
dude1879
blokeish1920
butch1949
1949 M. J. De Forrest Gay Year ii. ix. 144 You don't have to keep up the butch act with me, Cutie. I know you're gay.
1983 R. Curtis & R. Atkinson Black Adder in R. Curtis et al. Blackadder: Whole Damn Dynasty (1998) 96/1 (stage direct.) There is a butch double-handed handshake between them.
2001 J. Galluccio et al. Amer. Family ii. 27 We ended up getting a denim diaper bag that..was butch enough for me to carry without feeling like a female impersonator.
c. In extended use: strong, powerful, rough, rugged, etc.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense B. 1b.
ΚΠ
1987 Sydney Morning Herald 13 Oct. (Good Living section) 4/4 Kirk is a non-interventionist who dislikes fining his wines, preferring them to be on the butch side than the wimpy.
1998 Independent (Nexis) 30 Nov. 5 They [sc. telephone directories] looked a bit pathetic—two great, thick, butch objects..sprawling ingloriously in the Dulwich dirt.
2015 S. Butcher Salmagundi (Electronic ed.) Garlic chives—elegant, but with a great big butch taste.
2. Denoting a lesbian whose appearance, behaviour, or identity is regarded as masculine. Frequently in explicit or implied contrast with femme. Cf. sense A. 4a.Sometimes spec. in the context of a lesbian couple: denoting a partner who takes on a more dominant or active role (either sexually or in a more general sense), which may be thought of as analogous to that traditionally or stereotypically associated with the male in a heterosexual relationship.
ΚΠ
1947 Vice Versa Nov. 9 Has it ever occurred to you, my sisters, that the names by which we call ourselves lack dignity? I refer to ‘butch’ and ‘fluff’ and such. They are such slangish words, yet we have no better.
1958 Ladder (Daughters of Bilitis) July 23 More often than not, the so-called Butch type of the pair possesses the so-called Femme mannerisms.
1980 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 11 Oct. Usually Geschwitz is played like some kind of butch dyke, but I find her very feminine, very vulnerable.
2002 Diva Mar. 30 She was devoutly butch and committed to lesbian culture.
Compounds
butch–femme adj. of, relating to, or characterized by the adoption of butch and femme roles, esp. by two partners in a lesbian relationship; cf. femme n. 2b.
ΚΠ
1983 K. Payne Between Ourselves 325 The ‘traditional’ lesbian butch-femme stereotypes.
1994 Nation (N.Y.) 4 July 28/3 Butch-femme eroticism, feminist pornography and every turn-on from strap-on dildos to fisting.
2003 N. A. Boyd Wide-open Town 12 Through butch-fem culture..working-class lesbians in postwar Buffalo resisted male and heterosexual dominance.
2013 M. Cartier Baby, You are my Religion vi. 148 These new clubs were not necessarily populated by old school butch-femme couples.
Derivatives
ˈbutchness n.
ΚΠ
1966 Canad. Jrnl. Corrections Apr. 154 Masculine lesbians feel differently about themselves in a silk dress..and effeminate men respond with butchness when garbed in a wool sports shirt and old pants.
1996 Spy (N.Y.) Dec. 20 Just in case viewers were too dunderheaded to pick up on such subtleties, the entertainment industry invented a brilliant code to semaphore characters' butchness.
2009 W. Hoffman Passing Game v. 120 As part of Portnoy's hyper-heterosexual performance, Portnoy must convince the reader and Dr. Spielvogel of his butchness and heterosexuality.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
butchv.1
/bʊtʃ/, U.S. /bʊtʃ/ Now somewhat rare.
1. transitive. To slaughter (an animal), to kill for market. Also: to cut up, to hack. Cf. butcher v. 1a, 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of meat > dress animals for food [verb (transitive)] > butcher
undoc1400
fetter1587
butcher1609
butch1656
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > cut roughly in order to damage
hacka1200
mangle1528
hackle1564
behack1565
to rip up1567
to cut upa1592
hash1591
bemangle1601
hagglea1616
hacker1807
snag1811
butch1834
1656 W. Sanderson Compl. Hist. Mary & James VI 175 Maxwel was taken, desiring Quarter,..and reaching out his hand for to confirm it, had it basely cut off, and afterwards butched to death.
1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. ii. 51 My poor Man..oaways used tae butch it his sel, but naw I mun pay for it been dun.
1834 H. Taylor Philip van Artevelde Pt. II iii. i. 71 Go, pudding-heart! Take thy huge offal and white liver hence, Or..I shall be butching thee from nape to rump.
1890 Speaker 15 Mar. 284/2 Some young stuck-up swells..thowt to tak' a rise oot o' t' auld man wi' teals aboot butchin' swine in Manchester—three hundred a day.
1915 Rep. Board Managers Missouri Colony Feeble-minded 23 in App. House & Senate Jrnls. Missouri (48th Gen. Assembly: Serial Rep. No. 82) II As a preventative, we caused to be vaccinated 100 hogs, and have butched 78.
1969 M. Bragg Hired Man (1972) i. vi. 48 A score of Cumberland pigs..which, once butched, gave bacon whose slim streak of lean tasted, it was boasted, like no other.
2016 Times West Virginian (Fairmont) (Nexis) 8 Aug. Gump grew up canning the vegetables they grew in their garden and butching the cows, pigs and chickens for meat.
2. intransitive. Originally English regional (northern). To work as, or carry on the trade of, a butcher. Cf. butcher v. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of meat > prepare meat [verb (intransitive)] > do butchering
butch1846
butcher1865
rind1918
1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) I. 75 Butch, to practice the trade of a butcher, to kill.
1875 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. I 63 He use't to be a farmer, but he butches neaw.
1903 Punch 7 Jan. 17/1 There..Degrees Butchers and Bakers annually take: By studying for these They learn to butch and bake.
1929 Financial Times 30 Nov. 5/2 The evidence of a butcher out there who ‘butched’ for a few natives in the vicinity.
2016 themars113.wordpress.com 24 Jan. (blog, accessed 8 Sept. 2017) Meet Don the butcher. He butches at Sal's Diner.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
butchv.2
/bʊtʃ/, U.S. /bʊtʃ/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
1. transitive (often in passive). To cut (hair) very short. Cf. butch n. 3.
ΚΠ
1953 Long Beach (Calif.) Independent 16 July 17/1 Mrs. Garrison made it aboard the ship, wearing Navy blues and her hair butched, but she didn't see her ex.
1959 Corsicana (Texas) Daily Sun 31 Jan. a6/1 Junior Varsity Baseball Coach Leo Visbal, is the first to get his hair butched while his players egg the barber on.
1995 Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 30 Jan. a2/1 Andre Agassi may become my favourite tennis player now that he has butched his hair and shaved.
2. With up.
a. transitive. To make (a person, oneself, etc.) more traditionally or stereotypically masculine, either in appearance or behaviour. Also with it as object, in to butch it up: to be or appear butch.Frequently in homosexual contexts, with various connotations: cf. butch adj. 2, butch n. 4a and 4b.
ΚΠ
1964 Lavender Lexicon Butch it up, an admonition to act less faggotty. Often is spoken in jest, and may be heard as, ‘Butch it up, Mary’, meaning to cut out the obvious homosexual talk and action.
1973 R. J. Corsini Current Psychotherapies 113 He advised Michael to concentrate on his behavior rather than on his fantasies, and attempted, as Michael experienced it, to ‘butch him up’.
1997 N.Y. Times 13 July 3/2 (advt.) Suit yourself in the finest Italian clothing... Butch it up a little this Fall.
2001 Out Nov. 77/2 Gay men started butching it up like little Ken dolls, proving belatedly to their childhood tormentors that they weren't sissies after all but real men who wanted other real men.
2013 C. Doctorow Homeland ix. 171 I tried to butch it up, be as tough and cool as a super-spy.
b. intransitive. To change one's appearance or behaviour so as to appear more traditionally or stereotypically masculine; to act in a butch manner.
ΚΠ
1987 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 28 Oct. e13/1 Is there a school where young men can go to ‘butch up,’ so to speak?
1990 Village Voice (N.Y.) 16 Oct. 35/4 It's okay for girls to boy up, even butch up, as long as they don't own up to liking other girls.
2015 Radio Times 30 May (South/West ed.) 72/4 Violet pleads with Stuart to butch up—it's a struggle—and pretend to be her husband.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1859
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