A short poem; properly, a short pastoral poem; as, the idyls of Theocritus; also, any poem, especially a narrative or descriptive poem, written in an eleveted and highly finished style; also, by extension, any artless and easily flowing description, either in poetry or prose, of simple, rustic life, of pastoral scenes, and the like. [Written also idyll.] Wordsworth's solemn-thoughted idyl. Mrs. Browning. His [Goldsmith's] lovely idyl of the Vicar's home. F. Harrison.
98,828 entries. Headwords are matched first, then definition text.