Pavilion Meaning

/pəˈvɪljən/
C1

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounAn ornate tent.

nounA light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place.

When I was young, my father often talked to me about the Golden Pavilion.
The beauty of the Golden Pavilion covered in snow was unmatched.
Each continent had a pavilion at the fair.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The wedding ceremony took place in a roofed park ____ that had no walls.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cricket match was watched by a packed crowd in the ____ at the edge of the ground.

From Middle English pavilloun, from Anglo-Norman pavilloun, from Latin pāpiliōnem, form of pāpiliō (“butterfly, moth”) (due to resemblance of tent to a butterfly’s wings), of unknown origin. Doublet of papilio and papillon. Cognate to French pavillon (“pavilion”) and papillon (“butterfly”), and similar terms in other Romance languages.

"For after the rain when with never a stain, / The pavilion of heaven is bare, […]" — 1819 or 1820 (date written), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Cloud”, in Prometheus Unbound […], London: C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 6, page 200:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The wedding ceremony took place in a roofed park ____ that had no walls.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cricket match was watched by a packed crowd in the ____ at the edge of the ground.

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