Word of the Day

: March 29, 2008

arcadia

noun, often capitalized ar-KAY-dee-uh

What It Means

: a region or scene of simple pleasure and quiet

arcadia in Context

Artists and writers view the sleepy community as an arcadia where they can focus on their work.

Did You Know?

Arcadia is a mountainous, landlocked region of Greece. The Roman poet Virgil recognized that Arcadia's isolation and bucolic character make it a perfect setting for pastoral poetry, and over the centuries many other writers have agreed. In the poems of Arcadia, naive and ideal innocence is often unaffected by the passions of the larger world. Shepherds play their pipes and sigh with longing for flirtatious nymphs; shepherdesses sing to their flocks; and goat-footed nature gods cavort in the fields and woods. Now English speakers often use "arcadia" to designate a place of rustic innocence and simple, quiet pleasure. "Arcadian" can mean "idyllically pastoral" or "idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled."