papillon

[ pap-uh-lon; French pa-pee-yawn ]

noun,plural pap·il·lons

[-lonz; French pa-pee-yawn]. /-ˌlɒnz; French pa piˈyɔ̃/.

one of a breed of toy spaniels having a long, silky coat and large, erect ears held so that they resemble the wings of a butterfly.

Origin of papillon

1905–10; <French: butterfly <Latin pāpiliōn- (stem of pāpiliō)

Words Nearby papillon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use papillon in a sentence

Mary de Medici, her portrait mistaken by papillon and Fournier for a specimen of her own engraving on wood, 461.
A Treatise on Wood Engraving | John Jackson
There is also an edition by W. papillon in English blank verse .
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 7 | Various
Such a letter helps us to realise the loss suffered by France from the exile of men like papillon.
The Anglo-French Entente in the Seventeenth Century | Charles Bastide
Yellow Dog papillon, having come to stay, was sitting up, as if he never under any circumstances passed his time in another way.
The Halo | Bettina von Hutten
She saw papillon, who was sitting up, looking at her with a world of sympathy in the cock of his ear.
The Halo | Bettina von Hutten

British Dictionary definitions for papillon

papillon

/ (ˈpæpɪˌlɒn) /

noun

a breed of toy spaniel with large ears

Origin of papillon

French: butterfly, from Latin pāpiliō

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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