the.com/butternut squash

means A sweet, tan-skinned winter squash with orange flesh, prized for its smooth texture and nutty-sweet flavor in soups, roasts, and purées.

from 'Squash' comes from the Narragansett word askutasquash, meaning 'eaten raw or uncooked,' adopted by English colonists in the 1600s. 'Butternut' is the plain-spoken American part: the flesh is butter-colored and the flavor reminded people of nuts, so they just mashed the two words together — no myth required, just literal naming of a vegetable that happens to taste like dessert's quiet cousin.