adj
Meaning 1
Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
halcyon
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: /ˈhælsi.ən/
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obsolete: /ˈhælʃən/
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obsolete: /ˈhælʃi.ən/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: HH AE1 L S IY0 AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: at peace, blissful, calm, peaceful, prelapsarian, relaxed, serene, faint, hushed, low, muffled, quiet, quiet as a grave, quiet as a mouse, quiet as a church mouse, soft, still, stifled, tranquil
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A kingfisher whose nesting by the sea was said, in classical mythology, to cause the Gods to restrain the wind and waves.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A tropical kingfisher of the genus Halcyon, such as the sacred kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) of Australia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
marked by peace and prosperity
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a golden era
- the halcyon days of the clipper trade
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: golden, prosperous
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquillity
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a halcyon atmosphere
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
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 source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mythical being
noun
Meaning 9
a large kingfisher widely distributed in warmer parts of the Old World
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: genus Halcyon
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: bird genus
noun
Meaning 10
(Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Alcyone
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mythical being
History
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English Alceoun, from Latin halcyōn, alcyōn (“kingfisher”), from Ancient Greek ἀλκυών (alkuṓn).
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: kuningaskalastaja- — pertaining to the kingfisher
- Italian: alcionio — pertaining to the kingfisher
- Bulgarian: мирен (miren) — calm
- Bulgarian: спокоен (spokoen) — calm
- Czech: idylický — calm
- Czech: klidný — calm
- Czech: blažený — calm
- Czech: šťastný — calm
- Finnish: tyven — calm
- German: ruhig — calm
- German: glücklich — calm
- German: friedlich — calm
- Italian: alcionio — calm
- Māori: aupaki — calm
- Māori: āio — calm
- Ukrainian: спо́кій (spókij) — calm
- Ukrainian: безтурбо́тність (bezturbótnistʹ) — calm
- Catalan: blauet — poetic: kingfisher
- Czech: alkyón — poetic: kingfisher
- Finnish: jäälintu — poetic: kingfisher
- French: halcyon — poetic: kingfisher
- Greek: αλκυόνη (alkyóni) — poetic: kingfisher
- Ancient Greek: ἀλκυών (alkuṓn) — poetic: kingfisher
- Irish: ailcín — poetic: kingfisher
- Māori: kōtare — poetic: kingfisher
- Spanish: alcedón — poetic: kingfisher
- Spanish: alción — poetic: kingfisher
- Ukrainian: зиморо́док (zymoródok) — poetic: kingfisher
- Ukrainian: риба́лочка (rybáločka) — poetic: kingfisher
- Ukrainian: водоморо́з (vodomoróz) — poetic: kingfisher
- Walloon: vert-pexheu — poetic: kingfisher
- Walloon: rapexheu — poetic: kingfisher
- Walloon: pexhrea — poetic: kingfisher
- Bulgarian: синьо рибарче (sinjo ribarče) — bird of genus Halcyon
- Catalan: alció — bird of genus Halcyon
- Czech: ledňáček — bird of genus Halcyon
- Finnish: metsäkalastaja — bird of genus Halcyon
- Greek: αλκυόνη (alkyóni) — bird of genus Halcyon
- Hungarian: halkapó — bird of genus Halcyon
- Hungarian: halcion — bird of genus Halcyon
- Spanish: martín pescador — bird of genus Halcyon
- Spanish: alcedón — bird of genus Halcyon
Real reading context