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

• 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

Upscale can’t quite seem to nail Chrono Cross, I’m afraid, but its second or third stab at Chrono Trigger looks pretty amazing: And I’m not particularly fond of Upscale’s attempt at Dirge of Cerberus.

From The Verge • Jul. 25, 2021

Cynosemma: A Dirge from the Dog’s Tomb The tale of Hecuba, Queen of Troy, is reimagined in this musical fable from O-Lan Jones.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 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 "La Belle Dame" is the Litany of the Beauty-Maniac�his death-in-life Requiem, his eternal Dirge!

From Visions and Revisions A Book of Literary Devotions by Powys, John Cowper

Related Words

• elegy
• hymn