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 (Canada): (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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Further reading
[edit]- James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Elegy”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volumes III (D–E), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 82, column 1.
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