ELEGY Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

elegy

[ el-i-jee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural elegies.

a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.
a poem written in elegiac meter.
a sad or mournful musical composition.

elegy

/ ˈɛ��ɪ��ɪ /

noun

a mournful or plaintive poem or song, esp a lament for the dead
poetry or a poem written in elegiac couplets or stanzas

elegy

A form of poetry that mourns the loss of someone who has died or something that has deteriorated. A notable example is the “ Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard ,” by Thomas Gray. ( Compare eulogy .)

Discover More

Usage

See eulogy

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of elegy¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French or directly from Latin ��ī��, from Greek ��𲵱�î�� “elegiac poem or inscription,” originally plural of ��𲵱�î�ǲ� “a distich consisting of an hexameter and a penameter,” equivalent to é��(�ǲ�) “song, melody,” later “a lament” + -eios adjective suffix

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of elegy¹

C16: via French and Latin from Greek elegeia, from elegos lament sung to flute accompaniment

Discover More

Compare Meanings

How does elegy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

As I wrote in an elegy for my country, we got here because people don’t read history books anymore, which led to collective amnesia about reality.

From

The book may never wind up on a bestseller list or see the big screen, but Terra Vance said its lessons on empathy and perseverance are “the real hillbilly elegy.”

From

The memoir serves as a critique of the country’s treatment of white blue-collar workers — the “hillbillies” of the “elegy.”

From

Thomas Floyd, a critic for The Washington Post, called it “transfixing” and said “this morality tale launches with toe-tapping propulsion before anchoring for an intimate elegy on grief and guilt.”

From

Shifting between Palestine and the U.S., this heart-wrenching collection is, in part, an elegy for the dead, the dying and all that has been lost.

From

Browse