papillon

pa·pil·lon
P3A1P3I1L1L1O1N1
/ˈpæpɪjɒ̃//ˌpæpiˈɒn//ˈpæpɪlɒn//pəˈpɪliən/

noun

A small dog of a certain toy spaniel breed having large upright ears with a shape that resembles butterfly wings.

OriginFrench papillon ← Latin pāpiliō →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

papillon1

nounpapillon (plural papillons)

plural papillons · alternative Papillon

  1. A small dog of a certain toy spaniel breed having large upright ears with a shape that resembles butterfly wings.

    The researchers tested various breeds, including border collies, golden retrievers, pit bulls, labradors and even Jackson's own little papillon.

    2014 November 29, Rachel Nuwer, “Lassie gets an upgrade”, in New Scientist, number 2997, page 47

Papillon2

nounPapillon (plural Papillons)

plural Papillons

  1. Alternative letter-case form of papillon.
  2. A surname

Origin

  1. Latinpāpiliō“butterfly, moth”
  2. Frenchpapillon“butterfly”
  3. Englishpapillon

From French papillon (“butterfly”), from Latin pāpiliō (“butterfly, moth”). Doublet of papilio and pavilion.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Vietnamese chó bướm
  • chó bướmdog breed — see also Continental Toy Spaniel
Cite this entry
APA

papillon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/papillon

MLA

“papillon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/papillon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “papillon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/papillon.

Source: papillon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.