elegy

American  

[el-i-jee] / ˈɛl ɪ dʒi /

noun

plural

elegies

1. a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

2. a poem written in elegiac meter.

3. a sad or mournful musical composition.

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elegy British  

/ ˈɛlɪdʒɪ /

noun

1. a mournful or plaintive poem or song, esp a lament for the dead

2. poetry or a poem written in elegiac couplets or stanzas

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elegy Cultural  

1. A form of poetry that mourns the loss of someone who has died or something that has deteriorated. A notable example is the “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” by Thomas Gray. (Compare eulogy.)

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Commonly Confused

See eulogy

Etymology

Origin of elegy

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French or directly from Latin elegīa, from Greek elegeîa “elegiac poem or inscription,” originally plural of elegeîon “a distich consisting of an hexameter and a penameter,” equivalent to éleg(os) “song, melody,” later “a lament” + -eios adjective suffix

Compare meaning

How does elegy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• elegy vs. eulogy

Explanation

An elegy is a sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead. Although a speech at a funeral is a eulogy, you might later compose an elegy to someone you have loved and lost to the grave. The purpose of this kind of poem is to express feelings rather than tell a story. Thomas Gray's “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is a poem that reflects on the lives of common people buried in a church cemetery, and on the nature of human mortality. The noun elegy was borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French élégie, from Latin elegīa, from Greek elegeia, from elegos "mournful poem or song."

Example Sentences

If you do so while laying off workers and depleting the offerings at the cinema, well, that Tudum sound can be a herald, or it can be an elegy.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

“Bread of Angels” is also an elegy, not just for lost loved ones but for times, places and even physical things.

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2025

"She was at death's door, and she knew I could write, so she asked me to write her an elegy if the worst came to the worst."

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025

Released in 1976, less than a year after the ship’s sinking, his folk ballad became an instant hit, turning a regional disaster into an international elegy.

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2025

Another time, in a misprint he hadn’t caught, Roberto’s article had stated that Senator Smathers had delivered an elegy, instead of a eulogy, of Trujillo before the joint members of the United States Congress.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez