papillon

• Papillon

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈpæpɪjɒ̃/, /ˌpæpiˈɒn/, /ˈpæpɪlɒn/, /pəˈpɪliən/

• Audio (Southern England):

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papillon (plural papillons)

1. A small dog of a certain breed having large ears.
   • 2014 November 29, Rachel Nuwer, “Lassie gets an upgrade”, in New Scientist, number 2997, page 47:

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

• Papillon (dog) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

From Old French papeillon (12th c.), byform of paveillon, whence the modern doublet pavillon (“pavilion”). Both from Latin pāpiliōnem. The form with recovered -p- may be semi-learned, but has also been explained as a native development due to onomatopoeia. Another possibility would be influence by a hypothetical Old French *parpeillon, from Vulgar Latin *parpiliōnem (cf. Occitan parpalhon). The swimming sense is a semantic loan from English.

• IPA^(key): /pa.pi.jɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

papillon m (plural papillons)

1. butterfly

   vif et léger comme un papillon ― lively and light like a butterfly

2. (by extension) someone brilliant, versatile and inconstant
   • 1833, Gautier, Albertus:

     Avec sa cour folâtre de jeunes merveilleux, papillons de boudoirs […] Véronique était là.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (fashion) knot
   • 1842, Victor Hugo, Rhin:

     Le grand papillon noir, c'est la coiffure du pays. Coiffure gracieuse. De larges rubans de soie noire ajustés en cocarde sur le front, […] derrière laquelle les cheveux tombent sur le dos en deux longues nattes.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

4. (mechanics) ellipsis of écrou papillon (“wing nut, butterfly nut”)
5. (swimming) butterfly stroke

   le record du monde en nage papillon ― the world record for butterfly stroke

   nager le papillon ― swimming butterfly

6. (colloquial) parking ticket

   Les automobilistes parisiens ont fortement tendance à classer dans un tiroir les papillons qu'ils trouvent sur leur pare-brise.

   Parisian motorists have a strong tendency to file the tickets they find on their windshields in a drawer.

7. (engineering) butterfly valve

• → English: papillon
• → Greek: παπιγιόν (papigión)
• → Romanian: papion
• → Turkish: papyon

• chenille f
• mite

• “papillon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

papillon m (invariable)

1. bow tie