elegy

Word family

• elegiac
  adjectiveC2
• elegist
  nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An elegy is usually a literary or musical work that speaks with grief about death or loss. A dirge is narrower and more strongly tied to funeral music or slow singing. A lament is broader: it can be a cry of sorrow, a complaint, or any spoken or written expression of grief, so it does not need to be a formal work. A requiem is more ceremonial and often belongs to a religious service or a large musical composition for the dead. Tribute is wider still because it may honor someone warmly without sounding mournful. You might read an elegy at a funeral, hear a dirge in a procession, or call a film a tribute to a vanished neighborhood.

Common collocations

Etymology

Elegy comes from Greek elegeia, a word for a mournful poem or song. It passed through Latin into English, and over time the emotional idea of mourning became more important than the old classical verse form. In modern English, the word usually refers to a serious poem or musical piece that grieves for a dead person or for something precious that has disappeared.