Halcyon

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Halcyon \Hal"cy*on\ (h[a^]l"s[i^]*[o^]n), n. [L. halcyon,
     alcyon, Gr. "alkyw`n, 'alkyw`n: cf. F. halcyon.] (Zool.)
     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.


     [1913 Webster]
  
           Amidst our arms as quiet you shall be
           As halcyons brooding on a winter sea.    --Dryden.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Halcyon \Hal"cy*on\, a.
     1. 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence: Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy. "Deep,
        halcyon repose." --De Quincy.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  halcyon
       adj 1: idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy
              tranquillity; "a halcyon atmosphere"
       2: marked by peace and prosperity; "a golden era"; "the halcyon
          days of the clipper trade" [syn: {golden}, {prosperous}]
       n 1: (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
            [syn: {Alcyone}]
       2: a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the
          Old World [syn: {genus Halcyon}]
       3: 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

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  76 Moby Thesaurus words for "halcyon":
     Saturnian, at peace, at rest, balmy, bloodless, blooming,
     blossoming, booming, bright, calm, clear, cloistered, concordant,
     cool, dwindling, ebbing, even-tenored, exuberant, fair, fat,
     flourishing, flowering, fruiting, going strong, hushed, idyllic,
     impassive, in full swing, in good case, isolated, mild, moldering,
     orderly, pacific, palmy, pastoral, peaceable, peaceful, peacetime,
     piping, placid, prospering, quiescent, quiet, reposeful, reposing,
     restful, resting, rosy, secluded, sequestered, sequestrated,
     serene, sheltered, sleek, smooth, soft, still, still as death,
     stillish, stilly, stoic, stolid, subsiding, sunny, thriving,
     tranquil, unagitated, undisturbed, unmoved, unperturbed, unruffled,
     unstirring, untroubled, vigorous, waning
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Halcyon, CA
    Zip code(s): 93420