pavon

plural pavons

1. A small triangular flag, especially one attached to a knight's lance; a pennon.

   The pavon shape was popular in the fourteenth century.

   2012, Terence Wise, Medieval European Armies, page 39

   4 more examples

   High silken pavilions or colored marquees, shooting up from among the crowd of meaner dwellings, marked where the great lords and barons of Leon and Castile displayed their standards, while over the white roofs, as far as eye could reach, the waving of ancients, pavons, pensils, and banderoles, with flash of gold and glow of colors, proclaimed that all the chivalry of Iberia were mustered in the plain beneath them.

   1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, The White Company, page 325

   In modern parlance, under the generic name of flag is included standards, ancients or ensigns, banners, bannerolls, pavons, colors, streamers, pennons, pennoncelles, gonfanons, guidons , coronetts or coronells (hence the title of colonel), and the like.

   1894, George Henry Preble, History of the Flag of the United States of America, page 5

   Another flag, a pavon, is bendy of 10 arg. and az . which is a Mountford, Montford, or Montfort coat. This pavon occurs again, except that the number of bends seems to be 11 or 12: such variations are of no moment, as there is another Mountfort coat bendy of 12 or and az.

   1905, Bodleian Library, A Summary Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, page xix

   Some of these books contain illustrations of this flag; nevertheless there is not, nor has there ever been, bunting of any shape or size named a pavon.

   1963, Julian Franklyn, Shield and Crest: An Account of the Art and Science of Heraldry, page 183

2. alternativeAlternative form of pavane.

   Her Latin and French had been much approved of, and by-and-by she was to show off her dancing by dancing a pavon before him.

   1884, Marie Cufaude, “Extracts From the Recollections of Marie Cufaude”, in Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for Members of the English Church, page 427

   3 more examples

   I danced with him a pavon to please my godmother, who would have it; though I do hate with all my heart that slow solemn dance; a country round, for steps and spirit, is worth it a hundred times over.

   1845, Anna Eliza Bray, Novels and Romances, page 46

   Meantime, the king and his band having finished their stately "pavons" and " corantos high " with the utmost success, his majesty, in high good-humour, bade the ladies come forward and pluck the golden letters and devices from his dress and that of his company.

   1864, Agnes Strickland, Lives of the queens of England, from the Norman conquest, page 127

   More wholeheartedly an English physician, John Jones, on the authority of Sir thomas Elyot, Erasmus and others, recommends among sports and pastimes "comely dancing for preserving the healthy spritis as also for strenghening the sound bodie, using only that kind of Musicke called Dorios, where neyther deformitie is practised, nor wantonnesse enticed, but rather these virtues (as sheweth Erasmus and Fuchsius) as prudence, modestie, sobrietie and policie in Bargenets, Pavons, Galiardes, Sturgions and Roundes only."

   1978, Ruth Kelso, Doctrine for the Lady of the Renaissance, page 53

3. The peacock bass

   A pavon on every cast and my hands were raw from grabbing their jaws.

   1972 May, A.J. McClane, “Amazon......wonder World of Fishes”, in Field & Stream, volume 77, number 1, page 100

   3 more examples

   A fast, noisy retrieve excited most strikes; if a pavon swirled short, a dancing lure usually triggered a follow-up attempt.

   1991 July, Joe Doggett, “Proud of a Peacock”, in Field & Stream, volume 96, number 3, page 70

   In Venezuela, the pavon is the national freshwater fish of the country.

   1993, Larry Larsen, Peacock Bass Explosions, page 18

   My very favorite place to fish the pavons, especially the big peacock pavons, is in low clear water.

   1996, Lefty Kreh, Fly Fishing for Bass, page 127

4. South AmericaAny of various birds with ornate plumage, similar to a peacock.

   The head boy had just been stalking a pavon (peacock), and was aiming at it up in a tree when a jaguar aimed at him behind.

   1997, Roger Casement, Angus Mitchell, The Amazon Journal of Roger Casement, page 195

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   To console our bereavement somewhat, she sent down to the galliota a pair of young, noisy, half-fledged parrots, and a pavon or sun-bird .

   1855, William Henry Edwards, A Voyage Up the River Amazon, Including a Residence at Pará, page 171

   This is often stated to be the female of the pavon, but the opinion is erroneous, the pava not even appearing to belong to the same genus as the pavon, and having more the characer of a Penelope or Salpiza.

   1859, Julius Fröbel, Seven Years' Travel in Central America, Northern Mexico, and the Far West of The United States

5. A tropical butterfly, Doxocopa pavon, noted for the iridescent purple coloration of the male.

   Then, as I was spreading Ben's special brew on the big log over the wash, a general call went up: "Pavon!" I ran,and there was Doxocopa pavon all right, on a fruit basket.

   2010, Robert Michael Pyle, Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year

   1 more example

   The Pavon is yet another tropical member of the huge Brush-footed Butterfly family that just barely enters the United States, in southeast Texas, and even there only rarely.

   2002, Lisa Bonforte, Jan Sovak, Paul E. Kennedy, Color and Learn Birds, Butterflies and Wild Flowers, page 89

6. A subtropical plant of genus Peperomia.

   The Pavon plant , which appears to be similar to Mandon No. 1123 , has no ripe fruits , but was probably the plant on which the original description was based , for Pentland's plant is without doubt a specimen of P. peruviana, Dahlst

   1907, Isaac Bayley Balfour, Roland Thaxter, Vernon Herbert Blackman, Annals of Botany - Volume 21, page 140

7. A hydrochloride of opium alkaloid, similar to Pantopon, used as a pain medication.

   Many similar preparations have appeared since, viz., glykopon, glykomekon, totopon, holopon, pavon, etc.

   1924, Year Book of the American Pharmaceutical Association, page 228

   1 more example

   This indicates that pavon is a diluted pantopon, a pavon tablet is equivalent to half a pantopon tablet , and an ampule of pavon to half a ampule of pantopon .

   1922, International Medical and Surgical Survey, page 468

plural Pavons

1. A surname.