elegiac

American  

[el-i-jahy-uhk, -ak, ih-lee-jee-ak] / ˌɛl ɪˈdʒaɪ ək, -æk, ɪˈli dʒiˌæk /

adjective

1. used in, suitable for, or resembling an elegy.

2. expressing sorrow or lamentation.

   elegiac strains.

3. Classical Prosody. noting a distich or couplet the first line of which is a dactylic hexameter and the second a pentameter, or a verse differing from the hexameter by suppression of the arsis or metrically unaccented part of the third and the sixth foot.

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noun

1. an elegiac or distich verse.

2. a poem in such distichs or verses.

elegiac British  

/ ˌɛlɪˈdʒaɪək /

adjective

1. resembling, characteristic of, relating to, or appropriate to an elegy

2. lamenting; mournful; plaintive

3. denoting or written in elegiac couplets or elegiac stanzas

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noun

1. (often plural) an elegiac couplet or stanza

Other Word Forms

• elegiacally adverb

Etymology

Origin of elegiac

First recorded in 1575–85; from Middle French, from Latin elegīacus, from Greek elegeiakós; equivalent to elegy + -ac

Example Sentences

Williams encouraged Inge to write, and Inge’s first major success, “Come Back, Little Sheba,” established his voice: naturalistic, elegiac, and psychologically incisive.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet if all we get from “The Innocents of Florence” is a sense of elegiac reverence for those children who briefly called it home, Mr. Luzzi’s narrative is ultimately an evocative one.

From The Wall Street Journal

Goldblatt’s pictures from before these events are touristic and from afterward elegiac; particularly moving are his portraits of the dispossessed, showing their bitterness and their dignity.

From The Wall Street Journal

His patient, elegiac tone mimics the president’s reserve: The camera almost never moves, the musical cues are minimal, and there is virtually no unnecessary cutting.

From The Wall Street Journal

Also among Mr. Stoppard’s most indelible achievements was “The Invention of Love,” his elegiac and beautifully compassionate play about the poet A.E.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• funereal
• melancholy
• mournful
• sad
• sorrowful