dirge

American  

[durj] / dɜrdʒ /

noun

1. a funeral song or tune, or one expressing mourning in commemoration of the dead.

2. any composition resembling such a song or tune in character, as a poem of lament for the dead or solemn, mournful music.

   Tennyson's dirge for the Duke of Wellington.

3. a mournful sound resembling a dirge.

   The autumn wind sang the dirge of summer.

4. Ecclesiastical. the office of the dead, or the funeral service as sung.

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dirge British  

/ dɜːdʒ /

noun

1. a chant of lamentation for the dead

2. the funeral service in its solemn or sung forms

3. any mourning song or melody

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dirgeful
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dirge

1175–1225; Middle English dir ( i ) ge < Latin: direct, syncopated variant of dīrige (imperative of dīrigere ), first word of the antiphon sung in the Latin office of the dead (Psalm V, 8)

Explanation

A dirge is a song of mourning, performed as a memorial to someone who’s died. As you might imagine, a dirge is usually quite sad. Another word with a similar meaning that you might know is “requiem.” The noun dirge comes from the Latin dirige, which means “direct,” and is the beginning of a prayer that translates as “Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God.” Dirge can still have a religious meaning, but it can also be any sad and mournful song, poem, or hymn composed or performed in memory of someone who has died. You can also say that something mournful sounds like a dirge, using the word in a more poetic sense.

Example Sentences

On the basis of Everyday - an excoriating, paranoid track built around Death In Vegas's 1999 dance hit Dirge - the new material has been worth the wait.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2025

But unlike Dirge, Stranger of Paradise seems to be self-aware of its edgelordiness to comedic effect.

From The Verge • Oct. 4, 2021

Swed checked out some edgier fare too — namely O-Lan Jones’ opera-in-progress “Cynosemma: A Dirge from the Dog’s Tomb” and a new concerto for pipa player by Alan Chan.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2018

If Lorimer were starting again today, he'd call his magazine the Saturday Evening Dirge and park Norman Rockwell down Misery Street.

From The Guardian • Jan. 30, 2011

For the next ten minutes “The Dirge of the Salt Codfish” had things its own way, Nelson and Bob insisting on learning it by heart.

From Four Afloat Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Water by Barbour, Ralph Henry

Related Words

• elegy
• hymn