elegy
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French elegie, from Latin elegīa, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐλεγείᾱ (elegeíā), ellipsis of ἐλεγείᾱ ᾠδή (elegeíā ōidḗ, “an elegiac song”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American, Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈɛlɪd͡ʒi/
- Hyphenation: el‧e‧gy
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (CA) (file)
Noun[edit]
elegy (plural elegies)
- A mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song; a poem of lamentation. [from early 16th c.]
- (music) A composition of mournful character.
- A classical poem written in elegiac meter
Usage notes[edit]
Because the words elegy and eulogy sound and look similar and both concern speeches or poems associated with someone's death and funeral, they are easily confused. A simple key to remembering the difference is that an elegy is chiefly about lamenting whereas a eulogy is chiefly about praising (and eu- = "good").
Synonyms[edit]
- See dirge
Coordinate terms[edit]
- requiem – a piece of music played at a mass for the dead
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
mournful or plaintive poem or song
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Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Music
- en:Funeral
- en:Poetry
- en:Literary genres