A break in the tropical, oppressive weather of late made move-in day at the university a pleasant event for our first-year students. I hope they’ll recall it later as part of a four-year halcyon time in their lives.
Students face a great deal more anxiety than I did, 45 years ago (!) when I arrived as a clueless but hopeful freshman on the UVA campus (I mean Grounds–sorry for that near slip, Virginia Cavaliers). I regard those four years, especially the last two after I found my way academically and socially, to be a tranquil, happy time in my life. I recall those years, as do a few UVA friends I still see, quite fondly.
I’ve not covered this word, which seems a pity. It’s common in Humanities texts, especially literary works. We might use “idyll” as a near synonym. The etymology interests me a great deal; I didn’t know it before writing this post. We get our word thanks to Ancient Greeks and Romans; the OED tells us that our “halcyon” descends from the Latin “alcyōn. . . a mythical bird identified by the ancients with the kingfisher, believed to nest on the sea < ancient Greek ἀλκυών, in the same sense, of unknown origin; perhaps a Mediterranean loanword.”
How did a bird come to signify a lovely, even blissful period of life, when the cares of the world seem far away? The halcyon of myth would brood on her nest for days, The OED etymology tells us. It would “charm the wind and waves into calm.”
That’s sense of calm serves as our currently common definition. Again, the OED has it, as noun or adjective, to denote “A period of calm, happiness, or prosperity; (as a mass noun) calm, tranquillity. Also: a period of calm or pleasant weather.” The dictionary notes the phrase “halcyon days” as well.
Usage of our word has declined from its peak of popularity in the 19th Century. Perhaps the nastiness and breakneck pace of the century that followed put “halcyon” into my category of “endangered words.” I’d like to think that when our current troubles–and they are multiple–pass, we might again enjoy some halcyon days.
Meanwhile, students, slow down enough to at least savor Fall in Central Virginia. It can be a wistful, lovely time that will pass quickly but that you will recall forever.
This blog will not pass on but instead continue all year, so send words and metaphors of interest by e-mail (jessid -at- richmond -dot- edu) or by leaving a comment below.
See all of our Metaphors of the Month here and Words of the Week here.
Image “Move-in Day, Tulane University, 2009” courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.