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idyll

[ahyd-l]

noun

a poem or prose composition, usually describing pastoral scenes or events or any charmingly simple episode, appealing incident, or the like.

a simple descriptive or narrative piece in verse or prose.

material suitable for such a work.

an episode or scene of idyllic charm.

a brief or inconsequential romantic affair.

EXPAND

Music. a composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character.

COLLAPSE

Also, i·dyl.

Origin:
1595–1605; < Latin īdyllium < Greek eidýllion short pastoral poem, equivalent to eíd(os) form + -yllion diminutive suffix

Can be confused: idle, idol, idyll (see synonym note at idle).

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Idyll

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Idyll is an SAT word you need to know.

So is capitulate. Does it mean:

to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without regard for individual desire or volition

surrender under agreed conditions

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Example Sentences

Until then, the movie has pretended to be a romantic idyll.

But the appearance of a pastoral idyll conceals a poverty trap.

Its vision of people in thrall to religious ritual and living at the mercy of nature may be poetic, but it is no idyll.

Collins

World English Dictionary

idyll or sometimes (US) idyl (ˈɪdɪl)

—n
1.	a poem or prose work describing an idealized rural life, pastoral scenes, etc
2.	any simple narrative or descriptive piece in poetry or prose
3.	a charming or picturesque scene or event
4.	a piece of music with a calm or pastoral character

[C17: from Latin īdyllium, from Greek eidullion, from eidos shape, (literary) form]

idyl or sometimes (US) idyl

—n

[C17: from Latin īdyllium, from Greek eidullion, from eidos shape, (literary) form]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

idyll

c.1600, from L. idyllium, from Gk. eidyllion "short, descriptive poem of rustic or pastoral type," lit. "a little picture," dim. of eidos "form" (see -oid).

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Related Words

idle

idyllist

Matching Quote

"Circumcision is startling, all right, particularly when performed by a garlicked old man upon the glory of a newborn body, but then maybe that's what the Jews had in mind and what makes the act seem quintessentially Jewish and the mark of their reality. Circumcision makes it clear as can be that you are here and not there, that you are out and not in—also that you're mine and not theirs.... Quite convincingly, circumcision gives the lie to the womb-dream of life in the beautiful state of innocent prehistory, the appealing idyll of living "naturally," unencumbered by man-made ritual. To be born is to lose all that. The heavy hand of human values falls upon you right at the start, marking your genitals as its own."

-Philip Roth

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idyll

i·dyll