noun,pluralsa·lons[suh-lonz; French sa-lawn]/səˈlɒnz; French saˈlɔ̃/.
a drawing room or reception room in a large house.
an assembly of guests in such a room, especially an assembly, common during the 17th and 18th centuries, consisting of the leaders in society, art, politics, etc.
a hall or place used for the exhibition of works of art.
a shop, business, or department of a store offering a specific product or service, especially one catering to a fashionable clientele: a dress salon; a hair salon.
(initial capital letter) (in France)
the Salon,an annual exhibition of works of art by living artists, originally held at the Salon d'Apollon: it became, during the 19th century, the focal point of artistic controversy and was identified with academicism and official hostility to progress in art.
a national exhibition of works of art by living artists: Salon des Refusés; Salon des Indépendants.
1705–15; < French < Italiansalone, equivalent to sal(a) hall (< Germanic; compare Old Englishsæl,Old Saxonseli,GermanSaal,Old Norsesalr) + -one augmentative suffix
a room in a large house in which guests are received
an assembly of guests in a fashionable household, esp a gathering of major literary, artistic, and political figures from the 17th to the early 20th centuries
a commercial establishment in which hairdressers, beauticians, etc, carry on their businessesbeauty salon
a hall for exhibiting works of art
such an exhibition, esp one showing the work of living artists
Word Origin for salon
C18: from French, from Italian salone, augmented form of sala hall, of Germanic origin; compare Old English sele hall, Old High German sal, Old Norse salr hall
1690s, "large room or apartment in a palace or great house," from French salon "reception room" (17c.), from Italian salone "large hall," from sala "hall," from a Germanic source (cf. Old English sele, Old Norse salr "hall," Old High German sal "hall, house," German Saal), from Proto-Germanic *salaz, from PIE *sel- (1) "human settlement" (cf. Old Church Slavonic selo "courtyard, village," Polish siolo, Russian selo "village," Lithuanian sala "village").
Sense of "reception room of a Parisian lady" is from 1810; meaning "gathering of fashionable people" first recorded 1888 (the woman who hosts one is a salonnière). Meaning "annual exhibition of contemporary paintings and sculpture in Paris" is from its originally being held in one of the salons of the Louvre. Meaning "establishment for hairdressing and beauty care" is from 1913.
A periodic gathering of persons noted in literature, philosophy, the fine arts, or similar areas, held at one person's home. Salons thrived in the Enlightenment.
