Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding area and has sloping or vertical sides and a flat top.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A detached low mountain, or high rising abruptly from the general level of the surrounding plain; -- applied to peculiar elevations in the Rocky Mountain region.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun US an
isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding region; has a flat top and sloping sides
- noun a town in southwestern Montana; center for mining copper
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The butte is the only tall outcropping for several miles, so climbing it permits one to survey a very broad area.
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The butte was a holy place; men came there seeking visions.
The Berrybender Narratives Larry McMurtry 2004
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The butte was a strong point that the Council of Masters would very much like to take back.
The Flood Dietz, William 2003
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Beyond the summit of the butte was a greenish-brown plateau of sagebrush and bunch-grass.
Hidden Gold Wilder Anthony
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The level below the butte was a-buzz with life and energy.
'Firebrand' Trevison Charles Alden Seltzer 1908
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Georgian chief had, in the good old days of independence, built a massive castle, and nestling beneath its protecting shadow around the base of the butte is the town, a picturesque town of adobe and wattle walls and quaint red tiles.
Around the World on a Bicycle - Volume II From Teheran To Yokohama Thomas Stevens 1894
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We arrived just in time for meridian observation, and carried the barometer to the summit of the butte, which is 500 feet above the lake.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California To which is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, with Recent Notices of the Gold Region from the Latest and Most Authentic Sources Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont 1851
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Above the butte is another deep canon, through which the river has cleft its way.
The Wild Huntress Love in the Wilderness Mayne Reid 1850
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The day I was up there (a butte is a hill) they were celebrating the Commune which was an uprising in 1871 by the workers of Paris who were against Napoleon III and then who fought against the invading Prussians and Germans.
Frenchless in France 2008
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In the distance there is an extraordinary "butte" or isolated hill, Gunong Pondok, a landmark for the whole region, and on the right to the east a grand mountain range, the highest peak of which cannot fall far short of eight thousand feet; and the blue-green ranges showing the foam of at least one waterfall almost helped one to be cool.
The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither Isabella Lucy 1883
tbtabby commented on the word butte
What's the difference between a butte and a mesa?
September 22, 2008
bilby commented on the word butte
My mesa doesn't look so big in jeans.
September 22, 2008
seanahan commented on the word butte
A mesa has a clifflike side. Otherwise, the only difference is mesa is Spanish and butte is French.
September 23, 2008
ruzuzu commented on the word butte
I can't believe it's not butter.
November 12, 2010
yarb commented on the word butte
Ha ha!
November 12, 2010
thtownse commented on the word butte
Mesas are only found in Spain, whereas buttes are found in France and possibly Canada.
November 13, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word butte
Butte, Montana is a misaplied mistranslation and should be renamed, as should the 12th century Acoma Pueblo that sits atop the Acoma Mesa in New Mexico, if the previous comment is to be accepted.
November 13, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word butte
What about Elephant Butte, New Mexico? Or should the question be tabled?
Mesa Verde is in Colorado.
And there are Mesa, Mesilla, and Mesita in New Mexico.
Also in New Mexico, there are Mesa Chivato (oh you kid! (goat)), Mesa Montosa (are we out of the woods?), Mesa Poleo (false pennyroyal herb),Mesa Prieta, Mesa Redonda (when we get round to it), and Mesa Rica ( a gold carrying group of 49ers was caught in a massacre there). There are a mess of mesas! (not to mention a bunch of buttes.)
November 13, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word butte
As skiing season approaches, "Crested Mesa" Colorado just doesn't ring true.
November 14, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word butte
Fajada (banded) Butte in Chaco Canyon has gained prominence since the rediscovery of the 'sun dagger' seasonal calendar several decades ago
November 14, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word butte
Hayrick Butte in Oregon is an example of a tuya volcano that erupts under a glacier.
November 14, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word butte
Tempe Butte is the site of "A" mountain near the campus of ASU (Arizona State University) in Phoenix.
November 14, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word butte
Pedernal (Agate) Butte, more commonly known as Cerro Pedernal, near Tsiping on the north side of the Jemez is a butte made famous by Georgia O'Keefe's paintings.
November 14, 2010