Lexic.us

Definition of Halcyon

1. Noun. (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher.

2. Adjective. Idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity. "A halcyon atmosphere"

3. Noun. A large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World.

4. Adjective. Marked by peace and prosperity. "The halcyon days of the clipper trade"

5. Noun. A mythical bird said to breed at the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea and to have the power of calming the winds and waves.

Definition of Halcyon

1. n. A kingfisher. By modern ornithologists restricted to a genus including a limited number of species having omnivorous habits, as the sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) of Australia.

2. a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the halcyon, which was anciently said to lay her eggs in nests on or near the sea during the calm weather about the winter solstice.

Definition of Halcyon

1. Noun. In classical legends, a bird said to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters; later usually identified with a type of kingfisher, hence (poetic) a kingfisher. ¹

2. Noun. (zoology) A tropical kingfisher of the genus ''Halcyon'', such as the sacred kingfisher ''Halcyon sancta'' of Australia. ¹

3. Adjective. Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher ¹

4. Adjective. Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Halcyon

1. a mythical bird [n -S]

Medical Definition of Halcyon

1. A kingfisher. By modern ornithologists restricted to a genus including a limited number of species having omnivorous habits, as the sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) of Australia. "Amidst our arms as quiet you shall be As halcyons brooding on a winter sea." (Dryden) Origin: L. Halcyon, alcyon, Gr., F. Halcyon. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Halcyon

halatopolymers halau halavah halavahs halazepam halazone halazones halberd halberded halberdier

halberdiers halberds halbert halberts halcinonide halcyon (current term) halcyon days halcyonian halcyonoid halcyonoids

halcyonold halcyons halecret haled haleness halenesses haler halers haleru hales

Literary usage of Halcyon

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language by William Dwight Whitney (1889)
"Of, pertaining to, or connected with the halcyon or kingfisher. Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters. ..."

2. A Supplementary English Glossary by Thomas Lewis Owen Davies (1881)
"halcyon, calm; quietude. The word is often used adjectivally in this sense, halcyon days, &c., ... 4. All is halcyon and security.— f/ail. iii. 355. ..."

3. School Reading by Grades: First[-eighth] Year by James Baldwin (1897)
"It was a sea bird," answered Socrates, " a bird called £ the halcyon, and has a note full ... That, then, is the halcyon — the kingfisher," said Chaerephon. ..."

Other Resources: