butterflies in one's stomach

Fluttering sensations caused by a feeling of nervous anticipation. For example, I always get butterflies in my stomach before making a speech. This term likens a nervous feeling to that resulting from swallowing live butterflies that fly about inside one. [c. 1900]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Cerys	-	Welsh
Hemingr	-	Ancient Scandinavian
Broen	BRHOON	Limburgish
MiklavŽ	-	Slovene
Leola	-	English
Francesc	frən-SESK	Catalan