Main Entry: ¹pa·vil·ion

Pronunciation: \pə-ˈvil-yən\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English pavilloun, pavillioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin papilion-, papilio butterfly; perhaps akin to Old High German fīfaltra butterfly

Date: 13th century

1 a : a large often sumptuous tent b : something resembling a canopy or tent <tree ferns spread their delicate pavilions — Blanche E. Baughan>
2 a : a part of a building projecting from the rest b : one of several detached or semidetached units into which a building is sometimes divided
3 a : a usually open sometimes ornamental structure in a garden, park, or place of recreation that is used for entertainment or shelter b : a temporary structure erected at an exposition by an individual exhibitor
4 : the lower faceted part of a brilliant below the girdle — see brilliant illustration