The butterfly valve has been in use since the late 18th century. James Watt used a butterfly valve in his steam engine prototypes. With advances in material manufacturing and technlogoy, butterfly valves could be made smaller and withstand more-extreme temperatues.

The butterfly valve gets its name from how the movement is similar to a wing for flight. The rod is analogous to a butterflys body, while the disc moves like a butterfly wing.

A butterfly valve's motion is similar to that of a butterfly that has landed with the wings moved up and down with a 90-degree motion.