pavilion

P3A1V4I1L1I1O1N1
/pəˈvɪljən/

noun

An ornate tent.

“Only one player has hit a six over the Lord's pavillion.”

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

pavilion1

nounpavilion (plural pavilions)

plural pavilions

  1. A structure, sometimes temporary, erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc.
  2. ball gamesThe building where the players change clothes, wait to bat, and eat their meals.

    Only one player has hit a six over the Lord's pavillion.

  3. The lower surface of a brilliant-cut gemstone, lying between the girdle and collet.
  4. anatomyThe cartilaginous part of the outer ear; auricle.

    Synonyms: auricle, pinna

  5. governmentA flag, ensign, or banner.
    1. governmentA flag or ensign carried at the gaff of the mizzenmast.
  6. governmentAn ornate tent, used either as a charge or bearing, or surrounding a shield as or atop the mantling.
  7. A covering; a canopy; figuratively, the sky.

    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
verbpavilion (third-person singular simple present pavilions, present participle pavilioning, simple past and past participle pavilioned)

present singular third person pavilions · participle present pavilioning · participle past pavilioned · past pavilioned

  1. transitiveTo furnish with a pavilion.
  2. transitiveTo put inside a pavilion.
  3. figurativelytransitiveTo enclose or surround (after Robert Grant's hymn line "pavilioned in splendour, And girded with praise").

Pavilion2

proper noun
  1. A community and Indian reserve in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe cartilaginous part of the outer ear; auricle.

More synonyms by meaning

nounlarge and often sumptuous tent

Similar
Broader
tentcollapsible shelter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinpāpiliōnem
  2. Anglo-Normanpavilloun
  3. Middle Englishpavilloun
  4. Englishpavilion

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.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic جَنَاح, سُرَادِق
  • جَنَاح (janāḥ)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • سُرَادِق (surādiq)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • جَنَاح (janāḥ)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • سُرَادِق (surādiq)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Bulgarian пала́тка, ша́тра
  • пала́тка (palátka)ornate tent
  • ша́тра (šátra)ornate tent
  • те́нта (ténta)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • бу́дка (búdka)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • павилио́н (pavilión)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Catalan pavelló, pavelló
  • pavellóornate tent
  • pavellóstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Chinese Mandarin 亭子, 亭子
  • 亭子 (tíngzi)ornate tent
  • 亭子 (tíngzi)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • 展馆 (zhǎnguǎn)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • 展览馆 (zhǎnlǎnguǎn)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Czech pavilon
  • pavilonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Dutch paviljoen, paviljoen
  • paviljoenornate tent
  • paviljoenlight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • paviljoenstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Esperanto pavilono, pavilono
  • pavilonoornate tent
  • pavilonolight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • pavilonostructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Finnish paviljonkiteltta, paviljonki
  • paviljonkitelttaornate tent
  • paviljonkilight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • paviljonkistructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • paviljonkicricket building
  • siipidetached / semi-detached building in a building complex
  • alaosalower surface of a brilliant-cut gemstone
French pavillon, pavillon
  • pavillonornate tent
  • pavillonlight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • pavillonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • pavilloncricket building
German Pavillon, Pavillon
  • Pavillonornate tent
  • Pavillonlight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • Pavillonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Greek περίπτερο
  • περίπτερο (períptero)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
Hungarian pavilon, pavilon
  • pavilonlight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • pavilonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Indonesian paviliun
  • paviliunornate tent
Irish pailliún, pailliún
  • pailliúnornate tent
  • pailliúnlight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • puballstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • pailliúncricket building
  • pailliúndetached / semi-detached building in a building complex
Italian padiglione, padiglione
  • padiglioneornate tent
  • padiglionelight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • padiglionestructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Japanese 仮設テント, 東屋
  • 仮設テント (kasetsu tento)ornate tent
  • 東屋 (azumaya)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • 亭 (chin)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • パビリオン (pabirion)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • ブリリアント (buririanto)cricket building
  • 収容する (shūyō suru)put inside a pavilion
Korean 파빌리온
  • 파빌리온 (pabillion)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Malay astaka
  • astakaornate tent
Māori whare whakamātakitaki
  • whare whakamātakitakistructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Norwegian Bokmål paviljong, paviljong
  • paviljongornate tent
  • paviljonglight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • paviljongstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • paviljongdetached / semi-detached building in a building complex
Persian پردهسرای, پاویون
  • پردهسرای (parde-sarây)ornate tent
  • پاویون (pâviyon)ornate tent
Polish pawilon, pawilon
  • pawilonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • pawilondetached / semi-detached building in a building complex
Portuguese pavilhão, pavilhão
  • pavilhãoornate tent
  • pavilhãolight roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • pavilhãostructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
  • pavilhãofurnish with a pavilion
Romanian pavilion
  • pavilionornate tent
Russian павильо́н, шатёр
  • павильо́н (pavilʹón)ornate tent
  • шатёр (šatjór)ornate tent
  • павильо́н (pavilʹón)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • павильо́н (pavilʹón)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Scottish Gaelic pùball
  • pùballornate tent
Slovak pavilón
  • pavilónornate tent
Spanish pabellón, pabellón
  • pabellónornate tent
  • pabellónstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Swedish paviljong
  • paviljongstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Tagalog bahay-tolda, pabelyon
  • bahay-toldaornate tent
  • pabelyonornate tent
Thai ศาลา
  • ศาลา (sǎa-laa)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
Turkish otağ, sayvan
  • otağornate tent
  • sayvanornate tent
  • pavyonstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Ukrainian павільйо́н, павільйо́н
  • павільйо́н (pavilʹjón)light roofed structure used as a shelter in a public place
  • павільйо́н (pavilʹjón)structure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Vietnamese lều, bạt
  • lềuornate tent
  • bạtornate tent
  • nhà bạtornate tent
  • rạpstructure erected to house exhibits at a fair, etc
Welsh pafiliwn
  • pafiliwnornate tent

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with pavilion

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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