tranquil, a.
(ˈtræŋkwɪl)
Also 7 tranquill.
[ad. L. tranquillus quiet. Cf. F. tranquille (1470 in Godefroy Compl.).]
Free from agitation or disturbance; calm, serene, placid, quiet, peaceful. a. Of the mind, or affairs.
| 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 348 Farewell the Tranquill minde; farewell Content. 1623 Cockeram, Tranquill, quiet, peaceable. 1755 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) III. 328, I thank God all is tranquil again, after many fears and alarms. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest i, Adeline appeared more tranquil than she had yet been. 1794 ― Myst. Udolpho xliii, She had sat.. watching in tranquil melancholy the gradual effect of evening over the extensive prospect. 1872 Howells Wedd. Journ. (1892) 66 They sat down for the tranquiller observance of the wharf. |
b. Of the sea, the weather, a landscape, etc.
| 1748 Anson's Voy. i. viii. 83 Relieved by approaching a warmer climate and more tranquil seas. 1807 Crabbe Library 52 The treasures of this tranquil scene. 1836 Emerson Misc., Nature Wks. (Bohn) II. 143 In the tranquil landscape..man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature. 1861–75 J. H. Bennet Winter Medit. i. v. 122 The ordinary notion of the Mediterranean is that of a blue and tranquil ocean lake. |
c. Of things or actions: Steady, regular, even.
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 434 Crystallized by tranquil fusion and slow refrigeration. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xiii. (1842) 293 The heating power of the tranquil flame is much economised..by using a jacket. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. vi. 298 How those winding roads steal with their tranquil slope from height to height. |