dumka

[ doom-kuh ]

noun

, plural dum·ky [doom, -kee].

1. a Slavic folk song that alternates in character between sadness and gaiety.
2. an instrumental composition or movement imitative of such a folk song.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumka¹

First recorded in 1890–95; from Czech: literally “mournful song, elegy,” from Ukrainian dúmka, originally diminutive of dúma, the name of a genre of narrative folk poetry; duma

Example Sentences

The two forms in which he is most successful are the two most usually associated with his name—the Dumka and the Furiant.

From Project Gutenberg