Halcyonid
/hælˈsaɪənɪd/noun
A bird belonging to the kingfisher family Halcyonidae, especially one of the tree kingfishers.
Did you know?The word preserves a Greek myth in which the halcyon, often identified with a kingfisher, supposedly nested on the sea and calmed the waves for fourteen winter days.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἁλκυών (halkyṓn)
“A halcyon or kingfisher; the bird was associated with a mythically calm sea.”
Hellenistic Greek
Greek
ἀλκυών (alkyṓn)
“Variant form of the name for the halcyon or kingfisher; the exact origin of the Greek word is uncertain.”
Classical Latin
Latin
halcyon
“Halcyon or kingfisher, borrowed from Greek.”
Middle English
English
alcioun
“A halcyon or kingfisher, also used in medieval accounts of the bird’s sea-calming legend.”
16th Century
English
halcyon
“A kingfisher; later, figuratively, something peaceful or idyllic.”
19th Century
Scientific English
Halcyonid
“A member of Halcyonidae, the zoological family containing tree kingfishers.”
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