prep., adv. & conj. [ OE. bute, buten, AS. būtan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be- + ūtan outward, without, fr. ūt out. Primarily, būtan, as well as ūt, is an adverb. √198. See By, Out; cf. About. ] 1. Except with; unless with; without. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So insolent that he could not go but either spurning equals or trampling on his inferiors. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

Touch not the cat but a glove. Motto of the Mackintoshes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Except; besides; save. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who can it be, ye gods! but perjured Lycon? E. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this sense, but is often used with other particles; as, but for, without, had it not been for. “Uncreated but for love divine.” Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Excepting or excluding the fact that; save that; were it not that; unless; -- elliptical, for but that. [ 1913 Webster ]

And but my noble Moor is true of mind . . . it were enough to put him to ill thinking. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Otherwise than that; that not; -- commonly, after a negative, with that. [ 1913 Webster ]

It cannot be but nature hath some director, of infinite power, to guide her in all her ways. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is no question but the king of Spain will reform most of the abuses. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Only; solely; merely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Observe but how their own principles combat one another. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

If they kill us, we shall but die. 2 Kings vii. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

A formidable man but to his friends. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. On the contrary; on the other hand; only; yet; still; however; nevertheless; more; further; -- as connective of sentences or clauses of a sentence, in a sense more or less exceptive or adversative; as, the House of Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate dissented; our wants are many, but quite of another kind. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now abideth faith hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1 Cor. xiii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom. Prov. xi. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

All but. See under All. --
But and if, but if; an attempt on the part of King James's translators of the Bible to express the conjunctive and adversative force of the Greek &unr_;. [ 1913 Webster ]

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; . . . the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him. Luke xii. 45, 46. [ 1913 Webster ]

But if, unless. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ] But this I read, that but if remedy
Thou her afford, full shortly I her dead shall see. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- But, However, Still. These conjunctions mark opposition in passing from one thought or topic to another. But marks the opposition with a medium degree of strength; as, this is not winter, but it is almost as cold; he requested my assistance, but I shall not aid him at present. However is weaker, and throws the opposition (as it were) into the background; as, this is not winter; it is, however, almost as cold; he required my assistance; at present, however, I shall not afford him aid. The plan, however, is still under consideration, and may yet be adopted. Still is stronger than but, and marks the opposition more emphatically; as, your arguments are weighty; still they do not convince me. See Except, However. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ “The chief error with but is to use it where and is enough; an error springing from the tendency to use strong words without sufficient occasion.” Bain. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. but butt, aim (cf. butte knoll), or bout, OF. bot, end, extremity, fr. boter, buter, to push, butt, strike, F. bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. bōzan, akin to E. beat. See Beat, v. t. ] 1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here is my journey's end, here my butt
And very sea mark of my utmost sail. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ As applied to land, the word is nearly synonymous with mete, and signifies properly the end line or boundary; the abuttal. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The larger or thicker end of anything; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp end; as, the butt of a rifle. Formerly also spelled but. See 2nd but, n. sense 2. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. A mark to be shot at; a target. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

The groom his fellow groom at butts defies,
And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the butt of the company. [ 1913 Webster ]

I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I thought very smart. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an animal; as, the butt of a ram. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A thrust in fencing. [ 1913 Webster ]

To prove who gave the fairer butt,
John shows the chalk on Robert's coat. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hay was growing upon headlands and butts in cornfields. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Mech.) (a) A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or chamfering; -- also called butt joint. (b) The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter, and gib. (c) The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a hose. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks in a strake meet. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Carp.) A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; -- so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the casing, instead of on its face, like the strap hinge; also called butt hinge. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. (Leather Trade) The thickest and stoutest part of tanned oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness, trunks. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. The hut or shelter of the person who attends to the targets in rifle practice. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. The buttocks; as, get up off your butt and get to work; -- used as a euphemism, less objectionable than ass. [ slang ]
Syn. -- ass, rear end, derriere, behind, rump, heinie. [ PJC ]

Butt chain (Saddlery), a short chain attached to the end of a tug. --
Butt end. The thicker end of anything. See But end, under 2d But. [ 1913 Webster ]

Amen; and make me die a good old man!
That's the butt end of a mother's blessing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A butt's length, the ordinary distance from the place of shooting to the butt, or mark. --
Butts and bounds (Conveyancing), abuttals and boundaries. In lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the lines at the ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed. Burrill. --
Bead and butt. See under Bead. --
Butt and butt, joining end to end without overlapping, as planks. --
Butt weld (Mech.), a butt joint, made by welding together the flat ends, or edges, of a piece of iron or steel, or of separate pieces, without having them overlap. See Weld. --
Full butt, headfirst with full force. [ Colloq. ] “The corporal . . . ran full butt at the lieutenant.” Marryat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See 1st But. ] 1. A limit; a boundary. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The end; esp. the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end. Now disused in this sense, being replaced by butt{ 2 }. See 1st Butt. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

But end, the larger or thicker end; as, the but end of a log; the but end of a musket. See Butt, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Butted; p. pr. & vb. n. Butting. ] See Butt, v., and Abut, v. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. But, prep., adv. & conj. ] The outer apartment or kitchen of a two-roomed house; -- opposed to ben, the inner room. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a white crystalline ester (C18H30N2O2) that is applied to mucous membranes as a topical anesthetic. Chemically it is 3-(di-n-butylamino)-1-propanol 4-aminobenzoate (H2N.C6H4.CO.O.(CH2)3N(C4H9)2). It is usually used as the sulfate salt.
Syn. -- butacaine sulfate. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. a gaseous hydrocarbon C4H6; -- it is used as a monomer unit in making synthetic rubbers. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. butyrum butter. See Butter. ] (Chem.) An inflammable gaseous saturated hydrocarbon, C4H10, of the marsh gas, or paraffin, series. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a flammable alcohol (C4H9.OH) derived from butane and used as a solvent.
Syn. -- butyl alcohol. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a lesbian who is noticeably masculine.
Syn. -- dyke. [ WordNet 1.5 ]