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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A kingfisher, especially one of the genus Halcyon.
  2. n. A fabled bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was supposed to have had the power to calm the wind and the waves while it nested on the sea during the winter solstice.
  3. adj. Calm and peaceful; tranquil.
  4. adj. Prosperous; golden: halcyon years.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. An old and poetical name of the kingfisher. This bird was fabled to lay its eggs in nests that floated on the sea about the time of the winter solstice, and to have the power of charming the winds and waves during the period of incubation, so that the weather was then calm.
  2. n. In ornithology: A kingfisher of the subfamily Halcyoninæ or Dacelouinæ, and especially of the genus Halcyon: as, the white-headed halcyon, Halcyon semicœrulea.
  3. n. [capitalized] [NL.] The typical genus of kingfishers of the subfamily Halcyoninæ.
  4. n. Halcyon days (see below); calm; quietude.
  5. Of, pertaining to, or connected with the halcyon or kingfisher.
  6. Belonging to halcyon days (see below); calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy.
  7. Hence — Days of peace and tranquillity.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher
  2. adj. Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene.
  3. n. In classical legends, a bird said to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters.
  4. n. a kingfisher
  5. n. A tropical kingfisher of the genus Halcyon, such as the sacred kingfisher Halcyon sancta of Australia.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. 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.
  2. adj. Hence: Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy.
  3. 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.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity
  2. n. a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World
  3. n. (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
  4. adj. marked by peace and prosperity
  5. n. 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

Etymologies

  1. Middle English alcioun, from Latin alcyōn, halcyōn, from Greek halkuōn, a mythical bird, kingfisher, alteration (influenced by hals, salt, sea, and kuōn, conceiving) of alkuōn.

Examples

  • “Last Friday we had a very entertaining time of proofreading the Guide, aided by candy and fave tunes from the 80s provided by Miss Touch-Me Pod, whose little speaker recalls the halcyon days of AM transistor radios.”

    Archive 2009-08-01

  • “At least I recall the halcyon days when we would go to the playground, and I could stand nearby in reasonable proximity.”

    Thursday, Oct. 29 – The Bleat.

  • “Recalling the halcyon days of early 2008, Hedgie momentarily forgot himself.”

    Archive 2009-02-01

  • “Recalling their halcyon days in the '70s, Knicks announcer Walt Frazier came dressed as a leopard, or at least wore a leopard-print suit.”

    latimes.com - News

  • “When I was a teenager, I worked in the orchards around Wenatchee picking apples, cherries and other fruit," Armstrong said in a press release, recalling the halcyon days of the early 1970s.”

    HorsesAss.Org

  • “This is a movie that turns the aisles of Ikea into the kind of halcyon romantic destination that Woody Allen gives "Manhattan.”

    Archive 2009-07-01

  • “This association is derived from the noun "halcyon," which refers to a bird, fabled to have bred around the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea; the bird charmed the wind and waves, with the result that the sea was particularly calm during this period. cottag'd vale”

    Annotations

  • “To understand the gravity of Facebook’s decision and of the coverage of it, we need to recall the halcyon days of America Online.”

    On Facebook’s “Death Spiral” : #comments

  • “The historian Timothy J. Gilfoyle has called the years between 1836 and 1871 “the halcyon years of commercialized sex.””

    Simon & Schuster: A Renegade History of the United States

  • “Still, many prospectors remember the 1990s, when gold fell to as little as $250 an ounce, as halcyon days.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Australians Catch Gold-Mining Fever

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Lists

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  • medulla Really beautiful poem! Sep 22, 2011
  • milosrdenstvi If it's derived from Greek it ought to be HAL-kee-on, or actually probably HAL-kae-on Jul 29, 2008
  • dontcry Walt Whitman wrote a beautiful poem called Halcyon Days:

    Not from successful love alone,
    Nor wealth, nor honor'd middle age, nor victories of politics or war;
    But as life wanes, and all the turbulent passions calm,
    As gorgeous, vapory, silent hues cover the evening sky,
    As softness, fulness, rest, suffuse the frame, like freshier, balmier air,
    As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs
    really finish'd and indolent-ripe on the tree,
    Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!
    The brooding and blissful halcyon days!

    Jul 21, 2008
  • johnmperry Means anti-cyclone, so good weather in summer. Jul 21, 2008
  • bilby Heard hallie-con only yesterday ... tv newsreader :-( Apr 8, 2008
  • sionnach I'm still tempted to say "hallie-con". Apr 8, 2008
  • reesetee Yep. Oct 12, 2007
  • arby How the hell DO you pronounce it? HAL-see-on, right? Oct 12, 2007
  • ejnorman Halcyon is the most beautiful word in the English language. Oct 9, 2007
  • burntsox someone at work used this word in a conversation and brought the room to a silent pause.

    is there a word for that dangerous word that you've only seen in print but, because you've never heard it aloud, aren't sure how to pronounce? my work colleague nailed it, but i'm just saying. Oct 6, 2007
  • halcyonwhimsy I love this word for its many meanings and uses. To add to the aforementioned...

    It also means:
    calm; peaceful; tranquil
    and
    rich; wealthy; prosperous
    and
    happy; joyful; carefree Oct 2, 2007
  • thigpensrevenge mythical bird that was fabled to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation Jan 7, 2007

‘halcyon’ has been looked up 4095 times, loved by 45 people, added to 267 lists, commented on 12 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.