threnody

American  

[thren-uh-dee] / ˈθrɛn ə di /

noun

plural

threnodies

1. a poem, speech, or song of lamentation, especially for the dead; dirge; funeral song.

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threnody British  

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

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• threnodial adjective
• threnodic adjective
• threnodist noun

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

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

The threnody, in particular, is a much-studied example of startling emotional effects created from abstract concepts.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2020

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

Then we heard the Muses sing a threnody in nine immortal voices.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer