Pavilion

Pronunciation

Origin

From Middle English pavilloun, from Anglo-Norman pavilloun, from Latin pāpiliōnem, form of pāpiliō ("butterfly, moth") (due to resemblance of tent to a butterfly’s wings), of unknown origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Cognate to French pavillon ("pavilion") and papillon ("butterfly"), and similar terms in other Romance languages.

Full definition of pavilion

Noun

1. an ornate tent
2. a light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
3. a structure, sometimes temporary, erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
4. (cricket) the building where the players change clothes, wait to bat, and eat their meals
5. a detached or semi-detached building at a hospital or other building complex
6. the lower surface of a brilliant-cut gemstone, lying between the girdle and collet
7. (anatomy) the cartiliginous part of the outer ear; auricle
8. (anatomy) The fimbriated extremity of the Fallopian tube.
9. (military) A flag, ensign, or banner.
10. (heraldry) A tent used as a bearing.
11. A covering; a canopy; figuratively, the sky.
• ShelleyThe pavilion of heaven is bare.

Synonyms

• (part of ear) auricle, pinna

Related terms

• papillon

Verb

1. (transitive) to furnish with a pavilion
2. (transitive) to put inside a pavilion
3. (transitive, figuratively) to enclose or surround (after Robert Grant's hymn line "pavilioned in splendour")