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.

---

threnody British  

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

noun

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• threnodic
  adjective
• threnodist
  noun
• threnodial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• threnodies
  plural

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

When you’re expecting extinction, it makes sense to record the threnody in advance.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2022

Of course, “the unspeakable horror of the literary life” — to borrow Mr. Earbrass’s phrase from Edward Gorey’s “The Unstrung Harp” — is a familiar threnody in the writing biz.

From Washington Post • May 25, 2022

It was an acute and devastating threnody, which King read in a methodical cadence.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 3, 2017

In a way, the whole volume is a threnody.

From The Guardian • Apr. 13, 2013

Their voices blended into a threnody of nostalgia about pain.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison