But"ton (?), n. [OE. boton, botoun, F. bouton button, bud, prop. something pushing out, fr. bouter to push. See Butt an end.]
1.
A knob; a small ball; a small, roundish mass.
2.
A catch, of various forms and materials, used to fasten together the different parts of dress, by being attached to one part, and passing through a slit, called a buttonhole, in the other; -- used also for ornament.
3.
A bud; a germ of a plant.
Shak.
4.
A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, as a door.
5.
A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a crucible, after fusion.
Button hook, a hook for catching a button and drawing it through a buttonhole, as in buttoning boots and gloves. -- Button shell Zool., a small, univalve marine shell of the genus Rotella. -- Button snakeroot. Bot. (a) The American composite genus Liatris, having rounded buttonlike heads of flowers. (b) An American umbelliferous plant with rigid, narrow leaves, and flowers in dense heads. -- Button tree Bot., a genus of trees (Conocarpus), furnishing durable timber, mostly natives of the West Indies. -- To hold by the button, to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; to buttonhole.
© Webster 1913.
But"ton, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttoned (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Buttoning (#).] [OE. botonen, OF. botoner, F. boutonner. See Button, n.]
1.
To fasten with a button or buttons; to inclose or make secure with buttons; -- often followed by up.
He was a tall, fat, long-bodied man, buttoned up to the throat in a tight green coat.
Dickens.
2.
To dress or clothe.
[Obs.]
Shak.
© Webster 1913.
But"ton, v. i.
To be fastened by a button or buttons; as, the coat will not button.
© Webster 1913.