pavilion

[puh-vil-yuhn]

noun

1. a light, usually open building used for shelter, concerts, exhibits, etc., as in a park or fair.

2. any of a number of separate or attached buildings forming a hospital or the like.

3. Architecture.,  a projecting element of a façade, used especially at the center or at each end and usually treated so as to suggest a tower.

4. a tent, especially a large and elaborate one.

5. a small, ornamental building in a garden.

6. Also called base. Jewelry.,  the part of a cut gem below the girdle.

verb (used with object)

1. to shelter in or as if in a pavilion.

2. to furnish with pavilions.

pavilion

/ pəˈvɪljən /

noun

1. a building at a sports ground, esp a cricket pitch, in which players change

2. a summerhouse or other decorative shelter

3. a building or temporary structure, esp one that is open and ornamental, for housing exhibitions

4. a large ornate tent, esp one with a peaked top, as used by medieval armies

5. one of a set of buildings that together form a hospital or other large institution

6. one of four main facets on a brilliant-cut stone between the girdle and the culet

verb

1. to place or set in or as if in a pavilion

   pavilioned in splendour

2. to provide with a pavilion or pavilions

Other Word Forms

• unpavilioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavilion¹

1250–1300; Middle English pavilon < Old French paveillon < Latin pāpiliōn- (stem of pāpiliō ) butterfly

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavilion¹

C13: from Old French pavillon canopied structure, from Latin pāpiliō butterfly, tent

Example Sentences

When completed, the rigorously composed, historically inspired stone pavilion bore all the hallmarks of Johnson and Kelly’s more than half dozen collaborations.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The delegation from the U.K. fled their pavilion, abandoning coffee and snacks after a hole appeared in the tent roof, lightning crackling in the sky.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

BBC journalists saw flames and smoke in the pavilion area before they were rushed outside where fire engines raced past.

Read more on BBC

A fire erupted at a pavilion inside the venue of the UN's climate talks in Brazil on Thursday, prompting panicked delegates to run for the exits, AFP journalists said.

Read more on Barron's

Our critic noted that “as always at the Biennale, the delights came from unexpected places,” such as the pavilions from Bahrain and Serbia.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• structure