Dictionary

idyll en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪd.ɪl/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio
• īʹdĭl (US)
• /ˈaɪ.dəl/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio
• īʹdəl (US)
• ĭdʹĭl (UK)
• ĭdʹəl (UK)
• /ˈɪd.əl/ (UK)
• /ˈaɪ.dɪl/ (US)

Etymology

From Latin īdyllium, from Ancient Greek εἰδύλλιον (eidúllion), from diminutive of εἶδος (eîdos, “form, shape”).

Meanings

1. Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the Idylls.
   • Its pages contain not just recipes but an idyll of prelapsarian plenty, passed down the generations by those who still connect with pagan forces: Saturnus and his groaning table, a Saturnalia from the Golden Age. 2012 September 21, Justine Jordan, “John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk – review”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Dec 2013:
2. An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience.
3. A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.

Forms

Deriveds

idyllian

Relateds

idyllist · idyllic · idyllically · idyllical · idylist

Translations (36)

yi אידיליע (carefree or lighthearted experience) · fr idylle (poem or short written piece) · sl idila (poem or short written piece) · ru иди́ллия (poem or short written piece) · de Idylle (carefree or lighthearted experience) · yi אידיליע (poem or short written piece) · bg идилия (poem or short written piece) · de Idyll (carefree or lighthearted experience) · cs idyla (carefree or lighthearted experience) · cs selanka (carefree or lighthearted experience) · cs idyla (composition) · ca idil·li (poem or short written piece) · cs selanka (composition) · da idyl (carefree or lighthearted experience) · da idyl (poem or short written piece) · qu wayllu (carefree or lighthearted experience) · tr idil (carefree or lighthearted experience) · cs selanka (poem or short written piece) · es idilio (poem or short written piece) · kk идиллия (poem or short written piece) · pl idylla (poem or short written piece) · cs idyla (poem or short written piece) · fr idylle (carefree or lighthearted experience) · el ειδύλλιο (carefree or lighthearted experience) · el ειδύλλιο (poem or short written piece) · bg идилия (carefree or lighthearted experience) · ru пастора́ль (composition) · pl idylla (carefree or lighthearted experience) · pt idílio (poem or short written piece) · ca idili (carefree or lighthearted experience) · fi idylli (carefree or lighthearted experience) · ru иди́ллия (carefree or lighthearted experience) · ru иди́ллия (composition) · pl sielanka (carefree or lighthearted experience) · es idilio (carefree or lighthearted experience) · gl idilio (poem or short written piece)