idyllic

English

WOTD – 27 October 2006

Etymology

Etymology tree

English idyll

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *-ikos

Proto-Italic *-ikos

Latin -icuslbor.

Old French -iquebor.

Middle English -ik

English -ic

English idyllic

From idyll + -ic.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪˈdɪlɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /aɪˈdɪlɪk/

• Audio (UK):

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• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɪlɪk

Adjective

idyllic (comparative more idyllic, superlative most idyllic)

Leighton, Frederic - Idyll - c. 1880-81

1. Of or pertaining to idylls.

   Synonym: sylvan

2. Extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque.
   • 1896, H. G. Wells, “chapter 17”, in The Island of Dr. Moreau:

     My fellow-creatures, from whom I was thus separated, began to assume idyllic virtue and beauty in my memory.

   • 1922, John Buchan, “chapter II”, in Huntingtower:

     The rest of the road was as idyllic as the start.

   • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 217:

     I think I learned more from my family than they did from me in the brief idyllic time we spent together. None of them much more than a mile from home, they carried the aura of a close-knit community as a shield against against the unknown.

Derived terms

• idyllical
• idyllically
• nonidyllic
• unidyllic

Translations

of or pertaining to idylls

• Catalan: idíl·lic (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 田園詩的 / 田园诗的 (tiányuánshīde)

• Danish: idyllisk
• Finnish: idylli-, idyllinen (fi)
• French: idyllique (fr)
• German: idyllisch (de)
• Greek: ειδυλλιακός (el) (eidylliakós)
• Hungarian: idilli (hu)
• Italian: idillico (it)
• Kazakh: идиллиялық (idilliälyq)
• Polish: idylliczny (pl)
• Portuguese: idílico (pt)
• Russian: идиллический (ru) (idilličeskij)
• Spanish: idílico (es)
• Ukrainian: ідилі́чний (idylíčnyj)

happy, peaceful, picturescue

• Bulgarian: идиличен (bg) (idiličen)
• Catalan: idíl·lic (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 田園 / 田园 (zh) (tiányuán)

• Czech: idylický
• Danish: idyllisk
• Dutch: idyllisch (nl)
• Finnish: idyllinen (fi)
• French: idyllique (fr)
• German: idyllisch (de)
• Greek: ειδυλλιακός (el) (eidylliakós)
• Italian: idillico (it)
• Mongolian: энх тунх (enx tunx)
• Polish: idylliczny (pl), sielankowy (pl)
• Romanian: idilic (ro) m
• Spanish: idílico (es)
• Swedish: idyllisk (sv)
• Ukrainian: ідилі́чний (idylíčnyj)

Noun

idyllic (plural idyllics)

1. An idyllic state or situation. (A substantive use of the adjective)
   • 1922, John Buchan, chapter V, in Huntingtower:

     He could retire to the idyllic with the knowledge that he had not been wanting when Romance called.

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “idyllic”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “idyllic”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.