Ăl'çy-ō'ni-ŭm, n.

Ăl'çy-ō'ni-ŭm, n. [Lat. alcyonium, or alcyonēum, sea-foam; Gr. ἀλκυόνιον, ἀλκυόνειον, bastard sponge, a zoöphyte, so called from being like the halcyon's nest. Diosc.] (Zoöl.) A family of fleshy or semicalcareous zoöphytes, the polyps of which are like a flower of eight fringed rays. The term has also been used for species of sponge. See POLYP. Dana.