/seuh lon"/ ; Fr. /sann lawonn"/ , n. , pl. salons /-lonz"/ ; Fr. /-lawonn"/ .
1. a drawing room or reception room in a large house.
2. an assembly of guests in such a room, esp. an assembly, common during the 17th and 18th centuries, consisting of the leaders in society, art, politics, etc.
3. a hall or place used for the exhibition of works of art.
4. a shop, business, or department of a store offering a specific product or service, esp. one catering to a fashionable clientele: a dress salon; a hair salon.
5. ( cap. ) (in France)
a. the Salon , an annual exhibition of works of art by living artists, originally held at the Salon d'Apollon: it became, during the 19th century, the focal point of artistic controversy and was identified with academicism and official hostility to progress in art.
b. a national exhibition of works of art by living artists: Salon des Refusés; Salon des Indépendants.
[ 1705-15; salone, equiv. to sal ( a ) hall ( sael, OS seli, G Saal, ON salr ) + -one aug. suffix ]