dirge

[ durj ]

/ dɜrdʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dirge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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.

a mournful sound resembling a dirge: The autumn wind sang the dirge of summer.

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

Nearby words

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dirge

The 19th century, though, was a 100-year dirge from one horrid epidemic to another.
When TB Was a Death Sentence: An Excerpt From ‘The Remedy’|Thomas Goetz|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The design team sent out a dirge of mostly camel-colored leggings, leather shorts, tunics, and jackets.
Milan Fashion Week's Malaise|Robin Givhan|September 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was the dirge of the British Empire in America, “The World Turned Upside Down.”
Washington in Victory|Piers Brendon|October 10, 2008|DAILY BEAST
But the watcher made no movement, nor could I hear a sound, save that of the rising wind playing its dirge through the woods.
In Hostile Red|Joseph Altsheler

Slow, brief, deep as a bell tolling a dirge, a reply rolled back.
The Pathless Trail|Arthur O. (Arthur Olney) Friel
The monotony of the dirge is a sure indication of the depth of the trouble that occasions it.
Expositor's Bible: The Song of Solomon|Walter Adeney
If buried out of his parish, the corpse must first be presented in his own church with dirge and mass.
Parish Priests and Their People in the Middle Ages in England|Edward L. Cutts
It certainly looked as if a true prophet was writing that dirge!
The Story of the Cambrian|C. P. Gasquoine

British Dictionary definitions for dirge

dirge

/ (dɜːdʒ) /

noun

a chant of lamentation for the dead

the funeral service in its solemn or sung forms

any mourning song or melody

Derived Formsdirgeful, adjective

Word Origin for dirge

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

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

Word Origin and History for dirge

dirge

early 13c., dirige (current contracted form is from c.1400), from Latin dirige "direct!" imperative of dirigere "to direct," probably from antiphon Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam, "Direct, O Lord, my God, my way in thy sight," from Psalm v:9, which opened the Matins service in the Office of the Dead. Transferred sense of "any funeral song" is from c.1500.

dirge

noun

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Origin of dirge

Examples from the Web for dirge

dirge

noun

Word Origin for dirge

dirge