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Webster 1913 Edition

Elegy

El′e-gy

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Elegies
(#)
.
[L.
elegia
, Gr. [GREEK], fem. sing. (cf. [GREEK], prop., neut. pl. of [GREEK] a distich in elegiac verse), fr. [GREEK] elegiac, fr. [GREEK] a song of mourning.]
A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation.
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Elegy

EL'EGY

,
Noun.
[L. elegia; Gr. to speak or utter.; L. lugeo. The verbs may have a common origin, for to speak and to cry out in wailing are only modifications of the same act, to throw out the voice with more or less vehemence.]
1.
A mournful or plaintive poem, or a funeral song; a poem or a song expressive of sorrow and lamentation.
2.
A short poem without points or affected elegancies.

Definition 2024

elegy

elegy

English

Noun

elegy ‎(plural elegies)

  1. A mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song; a poem of lamentation.

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

  • requiem – a piece of music played at a mass for the dead

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • eulogy – similar sounding funeral word

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ “elegy” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Etymology

1514, from Middle French elegie, from Latin elegīa, from Ancient Greek ἐλεγεία ᾠδή ‎(elegeía ōidḗ, “an elegaic song”), from ἐλεγεία ‎(elegeía), feminine of ἐλεγεῖος ‎(elegeîos, “elegaic”), from ἔλεγος ‎(élegos, “poem or song of lament”), perhaps from Phrygian.[1]

Pronunciation

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