English Dictionary |
HALCYON
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Dictionary entry overview: What does Halcyon mean?
• HALCYON (noun)
The noun HALCYON has 3 senses:
1. (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
2. a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World
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
Familiarity information: HALCYON used as a noun is uncommon.
• HALCYON (adjective)
The adjective HALCYON has 2 senses:
1. idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity
2. marked by peace and prosperity
Familiarity information: HALCYON used as an adjective is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
(Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
Alcyone; Halcyon
Instance hypernyms:
mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)
Domain category:
Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Synonyms:
genus Halcyon; Halcyon
Hypernyms ("Halcyon" is a kind of...):
bird genus (a genus of birds)
Holonyms ("Halcyon" is a member of...):
Alcedinidae; family Alcedinidae (kingfishers)
Sense 3
Meaning:
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
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Hypernyms ("halcyon" is a kind of...):
mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity
Context example:
a halcyon atmosphere
Similar:
peaceable; peaceful (not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by peace and prosperity
Synonyms:
golden; halcyon; prosperous
Context example:
the halcyon days of the clipper trade
Similar:
happy (enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure)
Context examples
He had been a member of the crew of the smuggling schooner Halcyon when she was captured by a revenue cutter.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
The strong blast and the soft breeze; the rough and the halcyon day; the hours of sunrise and sunset; the moonlight and the clouded night, developed for me, in these regions, the same attraction as for them—wound round my faculties the same spell that entranced theirs.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The kitchen, the butler's pantry, the servants' hall, the entrance hall, were equally alive; and the saloons were only left void and still when the blue sky and halcyon sunshine of the genial spring weather called their occupants out into the grounds.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
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