elegy

American  

[el-i-jee] / ˈɛl ɪ dʒi /

noun

plural

elegies

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.

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elegy British  

/ 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

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elegy Cultural  

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.)

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Commonly Confused

See eulogy

Etymology

Origin of elegy

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

Compare meaning

How does elegy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• elegy vs. eulogy

Example Sentences

His violent depression and tortured recovery became the subject of “In Memoriam,” a book-length elegy to Hallam.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

The latest film from celebrated Brazilian writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho starts with a dead body and ends with an elegy for a different one.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

"She was at death's door, and she knew I could write, so she asked me to write her an elegy if the worst came to the worst."

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025

Released in 1976, less than a year after the ship’s sinking, his folk ballad became an instant hit, turning a regional disaster into an international elegy.

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2025

Bendix: “It was English. Mrs. Nally never cares if you’re late. Seriously, ask her. We were doing the metaphysical poets. Would you be in a rush to get yourself some pastoral elegy of John Donne?”

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin