halcyon
noun
- 1
A kingfisher whose nesting by the sea was said, in classical mythology, to cause the Gods to restrain the wind and waves. The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam.
- 2
The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam.
- 3
A tropical kingfisher of the genus Halcyon, such as the sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) of Australia.
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher.
- 2
Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene.
- 3
↑ Jespersen, Otto (1909), A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9), volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 12.22, page 342.
Etymology
From Greek halkyon, a mythical bird said to calm the winter seas while nesting.
Also useful for “halcyon”:Unscrambler— Rearrange the letters in “halcyon”