Butte
/bjuːt/noun
A steep-sided hill or isolated mountain with a flat top.
Did you know?Butte comes from French butte, meaning a mound or hillock, and in English geology it was used for isolated erosional landforms long before the word became famous in the American West.
Etymological Timeline
Old French
French
butte
“a mound, hillock, or raised earthwork”
Middle French
French
butte
“a small hill, bump, or rise of ground”
18th Century
English
butte
“a hill or mound”
19th Century
English
butte
“an isolated, steep-sided hill with a flat top”
Modern English
English
butte
“a steep-sided hill or isolated mountain with a flat top”