Denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful : the halcyon days of the mid-1980s, when profits were soaring.
1 a tropical Asian and African kingfisher with brightly colored plumage. • Genus Halcyon, family Alcedinidae: many species.
2 a mythical bird said by ancient writers to breed in a nest floating at sea at the winter solstice, charming the wind and waves into calm.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the mythological sense): via Latin from Greek alkuōn ‘kingfisher’ (also halkuōn, by association with hals ‘sea’ and kuōn ‘conceiving’ ).
