• halcyon •
Printable Version Pronunciation: hæl-si-ên • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun, Adjective
Meaning: 1. [Noun] A mythical bird of ancient Greece that nested on the seas, which it calmed with magical powers until its eggs hatched 2. [Noun] The kingfisher, which was confused with the mythical bird. 3. [Adjective] Calm, tranquil, placid.
Notes: The spelling of this Greek word (see Word History) is unusual for English so that prefixing or suffixing it would be difficult. There is a sponge, called alcyonium because it is remindful of the halcyon's nest, which has an adjective alcyonic. However, halcyon made it to adjectivity without suffixation, so an additional suffix would be redundant. Remember the [cy] in the middle of it; it sounds a lot like [si]—but it isn't.
In Play: When you think of total relaxation, this Good Word should rush to mind: "After a halcyon respite on a Caribbean lagoon, adjusting to the pernicious traffic of Los Angeles proved difficult for Sandy Beach." Calm and tranquility, of course, are found in many places other than the sea: "The halcyon expression on Gertrude's face let Wesley know that everything was under control".
Word History: 
Today's word is Greek halkyon "kingfisher, halcyon" with the [k] softened to the [s] sound. This word apparently arose from a compound containing hals "salt, sea" + kuon "conceiving, being pregnant", the present participle of kuo "to conceive", somewhat remindful of the halcyon's habits. This stem apparently goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "swelling" and, by implication, "hollow place", for it is phonologically related to the Latin adjective cavus "hollow, dug out".
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