Skip to content

paravent

folding screen, room divider

noun pah-rah-VAHN Rare
Home & Lifestyle Furniture

Origin: From Italian 'paravento' (wind screen).

Usage Note

Paravent literally means 'wind blocker' and refers to the multi-panel folding screen used to divide a room or shield a space. Lacquered Japanese-style paravents became fashionable in 18th-century French interiors and are still sold as decorative furniture. The word is not used figuratively in modern French.

Examples

"Elle s'est changée derrière le paravent."

Natural Translation

She changed behind the folding screen.

Explore French by topic