Pavonine
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Tarnish found on some ores and metals which resembles the tail feathers of a peacock. uncountable
- 2 Any bird from the family Pavonidae. uncountable
- 1 Of or pertaining to the genus Pavo or its family Pavonidae, including the peafowl.
- 2 Possessing the coloring or iridescence of a peacock feather.
"These rocks are a schist, and abound with the copper pyrites, which occasionally exhibits a pavonine tarnish. The schist is sometimes of a very deep gray colour, and is then the most rich in metal; sometimes also it has the green[…]"
- 3 Showy, like a peacock's tail; exhibiting vanity.
"... leaving its present body would find or construct another according to its chief intrinsic qualities and forces, whether those were a leonine magnanimity of courage, a vulpine subtlety of cunning, or a pavonine strut of vanity ."
Example
More examples"These rocks are a schist, and abound with the copper pyrites, which occasionally exhibits a pavonine tarnish. The schist is sometimes of a very deep gray colour, and is then the most rich in metal; sometimes also it has the green[…]"
Etymology
From Latin pāvōnīnus, from pāvō (“peacock”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.