butterfly kickn.
/ˈbʌtəflʌɪ ˌkɪk/, U.S. /ˈbədərˌflaɪ ˌkɪk/ 1. Swimming. A leg movement used as part of a swimming stroke, esp. the butterfly stroke, in which the legs are brought up and down in unison with an undulating motion.Cf. butterfly n. 6, butterfly stroke at butterfly n. Compounds 1a(e), dolphin kick n. at dolphin n. Additions.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > [noun] > swimming > stroke > specific
hand over hand1844
sidestroke1852
breast swimming1861
steamer1861
breaststroke1864
dog paddle1874
backstroke1876
trudgen1893
frog kick1896
overstroke1902
scissors kick1902
crawl1903
scissors1908
freestyle1916
doggy paddle1921
front crawl1924
back-crawl1929
butterfly stroke1934
butterfly1936
butterfly kick1937
1937 Daily News Standard (Uniontown, Pa.) 14 Dec. 12/6 Armbruster will lecture on the butterfly kick.
1960 Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News 5 July 1/4 Brian Kennedy of Naugatuck High, demonstrating the dolphin or butterfly kick.
2003 C. Forde Fat Boy Swim xxi. 169 No wonder butterfly kick was a doddle in reality; all Jimmy had to do was pretend he was a merman chasing his mermaid from one end of the pool to the other.
2. Martial Arts. A flying kick delivered by spinning forward with the legs and arms spread out.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > martial arts > [noun] > karate, etc. > action
shuto1959
butterfly kick1975
1975 Fairfield (Iowa) Ledger 1 Oct. 9/3 Butterfly kicks were being practiced during Kung Fu classes.
1991 K. Turner & M. Van Schuyver Secrets Championship Karate vi. 148 I jumped back into the air for another butterfly kick.
2012 G. Wells Tae Kwon Do 16 Some kicks have both jumping and spinning. Those include the jumping spinning roundhouse kick and the butterfly kick.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1937