elegy

From Middle French elegie, from Latin elegīa, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐλεγείᾱ (elegeíā), ellipsis of ἐλεγείᾱ ᾠδή (elegeíā ōidḗ, “an elegiac song”).

• (General American, Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɛlɪd͡ʒi/
• Hyphenation: el‧e‧gy

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elegy (plural elegies)

1. A mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song; a poem of lamentation. [from early 16th c.]
2. (music) A composition of mournful character.
3. A classical poem written in elegiac meter

Because the words elegy and eulogy sound and look similar and both concern speeches or poems associated with someone's death and funeral, they are easily confused. A simple key to remembering the difference is that an elegy is chiefly about lamenting whereas a eulogy is chiefly about praising (and eu- = "good").

• See dirge

• jeremiad — prose or poem but with more emphasis on bitterness and impending doom
• requiem — a piece of music played at a mass for the dead

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Elegy”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume III (D–E), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 82, column 1.

• lyege

First attested in 1508. Back-formation from elegyít, elegyedik, or obsolete elegyül.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlɛɟ]
• Hyphenation: elegy
• Rhymes: -ɛɟ

elegy (plural elegyek)

1. (chemistry and figuratively) mixture

   Synonym: keverék

• elegy in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• elegy in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).