elegy

[ el-i-jee ]

noun

, plural el·e·gies.

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

elegy

/ ˈɛlɪdʒɪ /

noun

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

elegy

1. 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 .)

Usage

See eulogy

Word History and Origins

Origin of elegy¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French or directly from Latin elegīa, from Greek elegeîa “elegiac poem or inscription,” originally plural of elegeîon “a distich consisting of an hexameter and a penameter,” equivalent to éleg(os) “song, melody,” later “a lament” + -eios adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of elegy¹

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

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Trump-friendly fare like Melania Trump's memoir "Melania" still holds the top spot, while VP-elect JD Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" was among the Top 10.

From Salon

Vance is also the author of the best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, about his childhood in the white working-class Rust Belt.

From BBC

Cracking Vance for Yang involved watching the screen adaptation of his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

From Salon

With his book “Brothers,” Alex has written an elegy to Eddie, and their complex dynamic that was tested by drug abuse, power trips and all the other common traps that befall megastars who once shared the same bedroom.

From Los Angeles Times

She also paid tribute to her late grandfather, the catalyst of her dreams, in the tear-jerking elegy “Querido Abuelo.”

From Los Angeles Times