halcyon
[hal-see-uhn]
- calm; peaceful; tranquil: halcyon weather.
- rich; wealthy; prosperous: halcyon times of peace.
- happy; joyful; carefree: halcyon days of youth.
- of or relating to the halcyon or kingfisher.
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- a mythical bird, usually identified with the kingfisher, said to breed about the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea, and to have the power of charming winds and waves into calmness.
- any of various kingfishers, especially of the genus Halcyon.
- (initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. Alcyone(def 2).
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Origin of halcyon
1350–1400; < Latin < Greek halkyṓn, pseudo-etymological variant of alkyṓn kingfisher; replacing Middle English alceon, alicion < Latin alcyōn < Greek
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
bucolicstillpastoralquietbalmygentlegoldenhappyharmoniousserenesoothingsunnytranquiluntroubledpalmyExamples from the Web for halcyon
Contemporary Examples
In retrospect, 2009 and 2010 were halcyon days in the Middle East, now that we seem just one horseman short of an apocalypse.
The halcyon days of Wolf, the third-wave feminist revolutionary and author of The Beauty Myth (1990), seem far, far away.
Without a bribed official, a halcyon, or eagle, will watch the entry point with binoculars for patterns and opportunities.
The mixed-media collection evokes nostalgia for halcyon days through fragmented images of the past.
On the Impossible Past will transport you back to your halcyon, angsty teenage years.
Historical Examples
So it is that seamen love these birds and look for halcyon weather.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told AnewJosephine Preston Peabody
Since I have mentioned the Halcyon, I shall here describe it.
The History of LouisianaLe Page Du Pratz
It was a new and halcyon vision of the way to spend one's declining years.
The Market-PlaceHarold Frederic
The sea is calm, and the halcyon broods, and only love is eternal.
The days went by, days that were halcyon under love's own sunshine.
Cruel Barbara AllenDavid Christie Murray
halcyon
- peaceful, gentle, and calm
- happy and carefree
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- Greek myth a fabulous bird associated with the winter solstice
- a poetic name for the kingfisher
- halcyon days
- a fortnight of calm weather during the winter solstice
- a period of peace and happiness
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin alcyon, from Greek alkuōn kingfisher, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for halcyon
adj.
1540s, in halcyon dayes (Latin alcyonei dies, Greek alkyonides hemerai), 14 days of calm weather at the winter solstice, when a mythical bird (identified with the kingfisher) was said to breed in a nest floating on calm seas. From halcyon (n.), late 14c., from Latin halcyon, from Greek halkyon, variant (perhaps a misspelling) of alkyon "kingfisher," from hals "sea, salt" (see halo-) + kyon "conceiving," present participle of kyein "to conceive," literally "to swell," from PIE root *keue- "to swell." Identified in mythology with Halcyone, daughter of Aeolus, who when widowed threw herself into the sea and became a kingfisher.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper