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elegya mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈɛlədʒi/

Example Sentences

  • Shakespeare's elegies are still read at many funerals today.
  • My cat wrote an elegy for her favorite toy mouse after the dog destroyed it.
  • The students had to analyze Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' for their literature exam.

elegy

NOUN

[/ˈɛlədʒi/]

a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead

The poet reads an elegy at the graveside as mourners quietly weep.
💡 Concept

The poet reads an elegy at the graveside as mourners quietly weep.

Writing an elegy drains his energy into lethargy
🎵 Rhyme

Writing an elegy drains his energy into lethargy

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈɛlədʒi/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈɛlədʒi/

🌳Etymology

Rooteleg-
Suffix--y

Origin

From Greek elegeion, originally referring to poems written in a specific meter called elegiac couplets. Over time, it came to specifically mean mournful or lamenting poems, especially those for the dead.

Breakdown

From Greek elegeia (mournful poem) + -y (noun suffix forming abstract concepts)

🎵Rhyme

allergyenergylethargy
allergy
energy
lethargy

🔗Collocations

write an elegy
funeral elegy
pastoral elegy
elegy for the dead
mournful elegy

📝Examples

Shakespeare's elegies are still read at many funerals today.

😄 Fun example

My cat wrote an elegy for her favorite toy mouse after the dog destroyed it.

The students had to analyze Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' for their literature exam.

😄 Fun example

After his smartphone died, Tom composed a dramatic elegy titled 'Farewell, My Digital Soul.'

📚Related Words

Synonyms

lamentdirgerequiemthrenody

Antonyms

celebrationeulogyhymn

Related

poemverseballadsonnetode

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