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Pavonine

//ˈpævəˌnaɪn// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to the genus Pavo or its family Pavonidae, including the peafowl.
  2. 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. 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 ."

Noun
  1. 1
    Tarnish found on some ores and metals which resembles the tail feathers of a peacock. uncountable
  2. 2
    Any bird from the family Pavonidae. uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin pāvōnīnus, from pāvō (“peacock”).

Etymology 2

From Latin pāvōnīnus, from pāvō (“peacock”).

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