HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
pa·vil·ion  (pə-vĭlyən)
Share:
Tweet n. 1. An ornate tent. 2. a. A light, sometimes ornamental roofed structure, used for amusement or shelter, as at parks or fairs: a picnic pavilion. b. A usually temporary structure erected at a fair or show for use by an exhibitor: the French pavilion at the World's Fair. c. A large structure housing sports or entertainment facilities; an arena. 3. A structure or another building connected to a larger building; an annex. 4. One of a group of related buildings forming a complex, as of a hospital. 5. The lower surface of a brilliant-cut gem, slanting outward from the culet to the girdle. tr.v.pa·vil·ioned, pa·vil·ion·ing, pa·vil·ions 1. To cover or furnish with or as if with a pavilion. 2. To put in or as if in a pavilion. [Middle English pavilon, from Old French pavillon, from Late Latin pāpiliō, pāpiliōn-, butterfly, tent (a tent being so called because the flaps at the entrance of a tent when drawn apart resemble the outspread wings of a butterfly), from Latin, butterfly; see pāl- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]  (click for a larger image) pavilionbrilliant-cut gemstone |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
