threnody

American  

[thren-uh-dee] / ˈθrɛn ə di /

noun

threnodies plural

1. a poem, speech, or song of lamentation, especially for the dead; dirge; funeral song.

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threnody British  

/ θrɪˈnəʊdɪəl, ˈθrɛnədɪst, ˈθrɛn-, ˈθriː-, θrɪˈnɒdɪk, ˈθriː-, ˈθriːnəʊd, ˈθrɛnədɪ /

noun

1. an ode, song, or speech of lamentation, esp for the dead

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Other Word Forms

• threnodial
  adjective
• threnodic
  adjective
• threnodist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of threnody

1615–25; < Greek thrēnōidía, equivalent to thrên ( os ) dirge + -ōid ( ḗ ) song ( see ode) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

An emotional poem or song that memorializes someone who has died can be called a threnody. Your threnody to your beloved dog may be an important part of your grieving process. Imagine a grief-filled lament sung or recited at the funeral of someone you loved very much. That's a threnody, a work of memorial art that captures the loss we feel after a tragic death. We can trace threnody back to a Greek root, threnodia, which means "lamentation." Examples of threnodies vary from A. E. Housman's 1896 poem "To an Athlete Dying Young" to Eric Clapton's 1991 song "Tears in Heaven," written after the death of his young son.

Example Sentences

He also begins dating a poetess known as Threnody, who is an expert in the arts of publicity.

From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2012

An early autumn number of the Atlantic Monthly for 1907 published a poem by Mr. Ridgley Torrence, entitled The Lesser Children, or A Threnody at the Hunting Season.

From Vocal Expression A Class-book of Voice Training and Interpretation by Everts, Katherine Jewell

He called it a Threnody, and he sent it for criticism to his cousin, Mr. R. A. M. Stevenson, who was better versed in the art.

From Stevensoniana Being a Reprint of Various Literary and Pictorial Miscellany Associated with Robert Louis Stevenson, the Man and His Work by Various

Emerson's "Threnody" shows that he has known the shadow; but he has fought with no Apollyons, reached the Celestial City without crossing the dark river, and won the immortal garland "without the dust and heat."

From Thomas Carlyle by Nichol, John

The only other elegy to which we may liken it is Emerson's "Threnody," written after the death of his little boy.

From Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived by Long, William Joseph