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View synonyms for dirge

dirge

[durj]

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.



dirge

/ 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

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • dirgeful adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dirge1

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)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dirge1

C13: changed from Latin dīrigē direct (imperative), opening word of the Latin antiphon used in the office of the dead
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But this isn’t a dirge — it’s a fight song and a taunt, and it sets the tone of comfortable, mischievous defiance that threads through the entire album.

From Salon

Austin Reaves is the Lakers’ breath of fresh air, a sharpshooting respite from all the drama and dirge, a stirring journey from undrafted to indefatigable.

The tone is relentless, and the score of slow and craggy strings is a dirge.

Al-Hijazi joined her relatives in the square, beating her chest to the rhythm of a funereal dirge, tears streaming down her cheek.

The score sustains single notes like a dirge as Leigh judiciously chooses which noises he’ll let barge into Pansy’s sterile life.

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