Hayday

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A period of great success or popularity, often in artistic or cultural endeavors
2. The peak time in someone's career or life when they achieve notable recognition or accomplishment
3. A time marked by flourishing activity and achievement, particularly in personal or professional contexts

Etymology: "Hay day" is the older form, and the compound's literal sense is the one that matters here. A hay day was simply a day of haymaking, the busy, weather-dependent season when a farm's hay had to be cut, dried and gathered before rain came. Because that work was the high point of the rural calendar, the phrase came to name a moment of peak activity, and from there a period of prosperity or success. The spelling "hayday," written as one word, is an alternative form of "hay day," so the two are the same expression in different typography. The figurative sense, the height of someone's power or achievement, grew naturally from the farming image: a person's hay day was their season of harvest.

Synonyms: heyday, prime, peak, golden age, zenith

Antonyms: decline, downturn, low point, nadir