papillon
Americannoun
-
papillons
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of papillon
1905–10; < French: butterfly < Latin pāpiliōn- (stem of pāpiliō )
Vocabulary lists containing papillon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kiba, her 3.5-pound papillon with a purple Mohawk, pulled 556 pounds on rails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
The five puppies — Labrador and golden retrievers, and a papillon among them — bounded through the airport, earning more than a few quizzical glances from airline passengers.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
The Tibetan spaniel papillon mix was photographed on Instagram wearing a bow tie, with a caption that read: “My mommies are MARRIED!!!! Married?…… yes…. married!!!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
Not just any puppy—a pint-size papillon with a black button nose and bushy, perky ears.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 27, 2022
To him a pas de papillon has been an abstract conception.
From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe
Dr. Xanya Sofra, who is based in Hong Kong, has had at least half a dozen of her papillons preserved by Bischoff’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
Then, step aside in an inelegant crab walk so as to avoid both turning one’s back on royalty or stepping on royalty’s yappy papillons.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
In the rings were many other strange-sounding foreign breeds : Keeshonden, kuvasz, komondorock,* Rottweilers, Salukis, Pulis, papillons and bouviers des Flandres.
From Time Magazine Archive
Madame de Pompadour always carried one, Marie Antoinette took hers along to prison, and Edith Wharton brought papillons to the U.S., where currently there are 158 registered.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Oh, je vous apportais mes papillons," said he, showing some butterflies in a paper case, and then, with an air of pride, "C'est une assez belle collection."
From Story of My Life, volumes 1-3 by Augustus J. C. Hare
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
