idyll

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a simple poem or prose work portraying pastoral life or a peaceful, contented scene

   The short story begins as a rural idyll before darker events disturb the village.

2. 2
   noun

   a peaceful, carefree episode or romantic interlude

   Their seaside idyll ended when professional obligations called them home.

3. 3
   noun

   a musical or visual work that evokes a tranquil pastoral mood

   The composer called the gentle orchestral miniature an idyll.

From Latin idyllium, from Greek eidyllion, a diminutive of eidos, 'form or picture.' The term first named the short poems associated with Theocritus and then broadened to peaceful pastoral works, scenes, and romantic episodes.

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