Words That Are Like Children: seen but not heard.
I was chatting with a friend the other day and he commented on the current halcyon weather. While he went on about the wispy clouds and endless blue sky, I found myself stuck on “halcyon,” and it occurred to me that this is one of those words you always read but rarely hear.
I think I have used halcyon at least once in all of my books, but I don’t think I’ve ever said the word out loud. I’m not even sure of the pronunciation. I then I got to wondering what exactly halcyon means! “Those halcyon days of yore ….” Happy? Blissful? When we won the lottery? How can I be a writer – a professional wordsmith, if you will – and use words without knowing how you say them or what they mean?
I went to my trusty dictionary with the bright red jacket and looked up halcyon. This is how you say it out loud: hal-see-yon. I got that part right. And it means peaceful, calm, tranquil. Well, I was right there again. Two for two. And then I read the origin of the word: from the Greek halkyón, meaning kingfisher.
Well, you’ve lost me there. Is the kingfisher a calm, peaceful, tranquil bird? Or are halcyon days ones where a lot of kingfishers fly over?
I would ask my weather-commenting friend, but he might respond with a word like “oleiferous” and then I’d be back at the dictionary. And I don’t have time for that! The day is just too nicely halcyon ….
