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

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 Los Angeles Times

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

From Los Angeles Times

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 New York Times

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 Seattle Times

Without even the slightest sentimentality about it, Laird Hunt’s new book, ‘Float Up, Sing Down,’ provides an elegy for a lost generation.

From Los Angeles Times