halcyon
From Wiktionary
See also Halcyon
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Latin halcyon, alcyon < Ancient Greek ἀλκυών (alkuōn)
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /'hælsɪən/
- Audio (US)help, file
[edit] Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
halcyon (plural halcyons)
- in classical legends, a bird said to nest on the sea and to calm the waters to make this possible.
- undated — John Dryden, (source?)
- Amidst our arms as quiet you shall be As halcyons brooding on a winter sea.
- undated — John Dryden, (source?)
- (poetic) a kingfisher
- c.1880 — Ambrose Bierce, On a Mountain
- And, by the way, during those halcyon days (the halcyon was there, too, chattering above every creek, as he is all over the world) we fought another battle.
- c.1880 — Ambrose Bierce, On a Mountain
- (zoology) A tropical kingfisher of the genus Halcyon, such as the sacred kingfisher Halcyon sancta of Australia.
[edit] Translations
Bird of genus Halcyon
|
[edit] Adjective
halcyon (comparative more halcyon, superlative most halcyon)
|
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher
- Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene.
[edit] Quotations
| 1787 | 1919 | ||||||
| ME: [[{{{enm}}}]] « | 15th c. | 16th c. | 17th c. | 18th c. | 19th c. | 20th c. | 21st c. |
- 1787 — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers No. 30
- Reflections of this kind may have trifling weight with men who hope to see realized in America the halcyon scenes of the poetic or fabulous age.
- (undated)— Thomas de Quincey, (source?)
-
- Deep, halcyon repose.
-
- 1919 — H.P. Lovecraft, The City
- I had wander’d in rapture beneath them, and bask’d in the Halcyon clime.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
Pertaining to the kingfisher
Calm
[edit] See also
[edit] Latin
[edit] Alternative spellings
[edit] Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀλκυών (alkuōn)
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /haːlˈkʏ.ɔn/
[edit] Noun
halcyon (genitive halcyinis); f., third declension
