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Monday, August 23, 2010

Butterflies and pavilions

Visiting the International Pavilion at the Canadian National Exhibition, which opens today. 
Butterflies. 
Two of the joys of summer. But did you know they’re etymologically related? The Latin word papilio (butterfly) was used in Roman army slang to mean “tent”, possibly because the folded-back flaps of the entrance to a tent looked like a butterfly’s wings. This migrated into Old French and thence into medieval English as pavillon, used for large, stately, highly ornamented round tents on military campaigns or at jousts. The word then came to apply to buildings with temporary uses, providing, for instance, shelter in a park or display space at an exhibition.

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