A.Word.A.Day--papilionaceous(【植】(花冠)蝶形的)
papilionaceous (puh-pil-ee-uh-NAY-shuhs) adjective
1. Of or
pertaining1 to a butterfly.
2. Belonging to the Papilionaceae family whose plants have
petals2 in the form of a butterfly, mostly legumes, such as peas and beans.
[From Latin papilion-, stem of papilio (butterfly).]
When you're sitting in a pavilion, you're under the wings of a butterfly,
etymologically3 speaking. Also, there is a breed of spaniels named papillon having large ears resembling the wings of a butterfly.
Pictures of Papillon and Pea flower.
"`You have an
exorbitant4 auditory impediment,' replied the doctor, ever conscious of the necessity for maintaining a certain iatric mystique, and
fully5 aware that `a pea in the ear' was unlikely to earn him any
kudos6. `I can remove it with a fishhook and a small hammer...' Dr. Iannis returned at six o'clock and hooked the
softened7 pea successfully without the aid of a hammer, small or otherwise. He worked it out
deftly8 enough, and presented it to the couple for their
inspection9. Encrusted with thick dark wax, rank and malodourous, it was recognisable to neither of them as anything leguminous. `It's very papilionaceous, is it not?'
enquired10 the doctor."
Louis de Bernières, Corelli's Mandolin, Vintage Books, Sep 1995.