dirge

English

Etymology

From Latin dirige (“steer”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: dûj, IPA^(key): /dɜːdʒ/
• (US) enPR: dûrj, IPA^(key): /dɝdʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)dʒ

Noun

dirge (plural dirges)

1. A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.
   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], lines 8–14, page 153, column 2:

     Therefore our ſometimes Siſter, now our Queen, / Th’ imperiall Ioyntreſſe of this warlike State, / Haue we, as ’twere, with a defeated ioy, / With one Auſpicious, and one Dropping eye, / With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage, / In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole / Taken to Wife […]

2. (informal) A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.

Synonyms

• lament, requiem, coronach, threnody, elegy

Related terms

• dirgeful

Translations

mournful poem or piece of music

• Afrikaans: treurlied (af)
• Arabic: تَرْنِيمَة جَنَائِزِيَّة‎ f (tarnīma(t) janāʾiziyya)
• Bulgarian: погреба́лна пе́сен f (pogrebálna pésen)
• Catalan: complanta f, plany (ca) m, cant fúnebre m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 輓歌 (zh), 挽歌 (zh) (wǎngē), 哀樂 (zh), 哀乐 (zh) (āiyuè), 哀歌 (zh) (āigē)

• Dutch: lijkzang m, treurzang (nl) m, treurlied (nl) n, rouwzang m
• Finnish: surulaulu, suruvirsi
• French: chant funèbre m
• German: Klagelied (de) n, Trauersang m, Grabsang m
• Greek:

  Ancient: θρῆνος m (thrênos)

• Irish: caoineadh
• Italian: nenia (it) f, lamentazione (it) f, lagna (it) f
• Japanese: 哀歌 (あいか, aika), 弔歌 (ちょうか, chōka)
• Korean: 장송가 (jangsongga), 만가 (ko) (man-ga), 비가 (biga), 조시 (josi), 애가 (ko) (aega)
• Latin: nēnia f, aelinos m, threnus m
• Maori: apakura, pihe, tūkeka, matatangitangi
• Portuguese: elegia (pt) f, nénia f (Portugal), nênia (pt) f (Brazil)
• Russian: погреба́льная песнь f (pogrebálʹnaja pesnʹ), панихи́да (ru) f (panixída)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: tužaljka (sh), tužbalica (sh), naricaljka (sh), narikača (sh)

• Spanish: canto fúnebre m
• Yiddish: קלאָגליד‎ n (kloglid)

Verb

dirge (third-person singular simple present dirges, present participle dirging, simple past and past participle dirged)

1. To sing dirges

Anagrams

• Ridge, gride, redig, ridge