dirge

(dûrj)
n.

1. Music.
   1. A funeral hymn or lament.
   2. A slow, mournful musical composition.
2. A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work.
3. Roman Catholic Church. The Office of the Dead.

[Middle English, an antiphon at Matins in the Office of the Dead, from Medieval Latin dīrige Domine, direct, O Lord (the opening words of the antiphon), imperative of dīrigere, to direct. See direct.]

dirgeful dirge'ful adj.

WORD HISTORY   The history of the word dirge illustrates how a word with neutral connotations, such as direct, can become emotionally charged because of a specialized use. The Latin word dīrige is a form of the verb dīrigere, "to direct, guide," that is used in uttering commands. In the Office of the Dead dīrige is the first word in the opening of the antiphon for the first nocturn of Matins: "Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam," "Direct, O Lord, my God, my way in thy sight." The part of the Office of the Dead that begins with this antiphon was named Dīrige in Ecclesiastical Latin. This word with this meaning was borrowed into English as dirige, first recorded in a work possibly written before 1200. Dirige was then extended to refer to the chanting or reading of the Office of the Dead as part of a funeral or memorial service. In Middle English the word was shortened to dirge, although it was pronounced as two syllables. After the Middle Ages the word took on its more general senses of "a funeral hymn or lament" and "a mournful poem or musical composition," and developed its one-syllable pronunciation.

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A generic title for English burial poems and songs of mourning; the word comes from the antiphon ‘Dirige, Dominus Deus meus’ in the Roman Office for the Dead.

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dirge, a song of lamentation in mourning for someone's death; or a poem in the form of such a song, and usually less elaborate than an elegy. An ancient genre employed by Pindar in Greek and notably byPropertius in Latin, the dirge also occurs in English, most famously inAriel's song ‘Full fathom five thy father lies’ in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

A piece that is performed at a funeral or memorial service.

A poem of grief or lamentation, especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites.

IN BRIEF: A song of mourning.

In the end, one or the other will triumph — a funeral dirge will be sung over the Soviet republic or over world capitalism. — Nikolai Lenin (1870-1924), Russian Communist leader from 1920.

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For a list of words related to dirge, see:

• Types of Music and Composition - dirge: slow, mournful piece, esp. accompanying funeral
• Burial and Funerals - dirge: song of lamentation at funeral

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See words rhyming with "dirge."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Dirge.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - begravelsessang, sørgesang, klagesang

Nederlands (Dutch)
klaagzang, lijkzang

Français (French)
n. - hymne funèbre, (fig) chant lugubre

Deutsch (German)
n. - Klagegesang

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - θρηνητικό άσμα, μοιρολόι

Italiano (Italian)
lamento funebre

Português (Portuguese)
n. - missa (f) de réquiem, canto (m) fúnebre

Русский (Russian)
погребальная песнь

Español (Spanish)
n. - endecha, canto fúnebre

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sorgesång

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
挽歌, 哀悼歌

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 挽歌, 哀悼歌

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 장송가

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 葬送歌, 哀歌, 埋葬式聖歌

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ترنيمه جنائزيه, لحن حزين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קינה‬

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