English
halcyon days
Halcyon days comes from Latin Alcyone, and goes back to Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἈλκυόνηAlkuónē
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEAlcyone
- Englishearliest quotation 1591halcyon days
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἈλκυόνηAlkuónē
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEAlcyone
- Englishearliest quotation 1591halcyon days
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Expect Saint Martins summer, Halcyon dayes, / Since I…”
The story
When her husband died in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea whereupon the gods transformed them both into halcyon birds (kingfishers). When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to destroy it. Aeolus restrained his winds and kept them calm during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days," when storms do not occur.
Every English word from Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη
Today it means
noun A period of calm during the winter, when storms do not occur.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη / halcyon days