Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HAL'CYON, n. [hal'shon; L. halcyon, Gr. άλκυων, a king-fisher, from αλς, the sea, and κυω, to conceive, from breeding among reeds by the sea. Morin.]

The name anciently given to the king-fisher, otherwise called alcedo; a bird that was said to lay her eggs in nests, on rocks near the sea, during the calm weather about the winter solstice. Hence,