dirge en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /dɝd͡ʒ/ (General-American)
- dûj (Received-Pronunciation)
- dûrj (General-American)
- /dɜːdʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English dirige, from Latin dirige (“steer, direct”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Doublet of dirige.
Meanings
-
A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person.
Over six sections – a prologue, a life-story, a dream-quest, a dirge, a masque and an epilogue – they meditate on their lives, their hopes, their losses, and on the human condition.
2010 April 9, Glyn Maxwell, “WH Auden's ‘The Age of Anxiety’”, in The Guardian:Therefore our ſometimes Siſter, now our Queen, / Th’ imperiall Ioyntreſſe of this warlike State, / Haue we, as ’twere, with a defeated ioy, / With one Auſpicious, and one Dropping eye, / With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage, / In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole / Taken to Wife […]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 153, column 2, lines 8–14:While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, “William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!”
1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter VII, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:It was as if the night sang dirges with clenched teeth.
1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC:
- (informal) A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dirges | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
lament · trental · requiem · elegy · coronach · threnody
Translations (77)
hu kesergő (mournful poem or piece of music) · sh narikača (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq ligje (mournful poem or piece of music) · it lamentazione (mournful poem or piece of music) · cmn 輓歌 /挽歌 (mournful poem or piece of music) · cs truchlozpěv (mournful poem or piece of music) · pl pieśń żałobna (mournful poem or piece of music) · hu siratóének (mournful poem or piece of music) · fr chant funèbre (mournful poem or piece of music) · nl lijkzang (mournful poem or piece of music) · ja 哀歌 (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq vajtim (mournful poem or piece of music) · it nenia (mournful poem or piece of music) · la mortuālium (mournful poem or piece of music) · ca plany (mournful poem or piece of music) · fi surulaulu (mournful poem or piece of music) · sh tužaljka (mournful poem or piece of music) · sh tužbalica (mournful poem or piece of music) · la threnus (mournful poem or piece of music) · bg погреба́лна пе́сен (mournful poem or piece of music) · ga caoineadh (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq pleqërishtë (mournful poem or piece of music) · cmn 哀樂 /哀乐 (mournful poem or piece of music) · mi matatangitangi (mournful poem or piece of music) · yue 哀歌 (mournful poem or piece of music) · ro recviem (mournful poem or piece of music) · cs žalozpěv (mournful poem or piece of music) · ko 만가 (mournful poem or piece of music) · nl rouwzang (mournful poem or piece of music) · nl treurzang (mournful poem or piece of music) · nl treurlied (mournful poem or piece of music) · it lagna (mournful poem or piece of music) · ru панихи́да (mournful poem or piece of music) · ko 조시 (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq gjëmë (mournful poem or piece of music) · af treurlied (mournful poem or piece of music) · ko 애가 (mournful poem or piece of music) · ja 弔歌 (mournful poem or piece of music) · yue 哀樂 /哀乐 (mournful poem or piece of music) · ru ре́квием (mournful poem or piece of music) · de Klagelied (mournful poem or piece of music) · ca complanta (mournful poem or piece of music) · mi pōhangahanga (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq gjâmë (mournful poem or piece of music) · pt nénia (mournful poem or piece of music) · mi tūkeka (mournful poem or piece of music) · hu gyászének (mournful poem or piece of music) · es canto fúnebre (mournful poem or piece of music) · pt nênia (mournful poem or piece of music) · grc θρῆνος (mournful poem or piece of music) · hu gyászdal (mournful poem or piece of music) · mi apakura (mournful poem or piece of music) · ru погреба́льная песнь (mournful poem or piece of music) · mk ре́дба (mournful poem or piece of music) · ro cântec funebru (mournful poem or piece of music) · la nēnia (mournful poem or piece of music) · yi קלאָגליד (mournful poem or piece of music) · de Grabsang (mournful poem or piece of music) · sh naricaljka (mournful poem or piece of music) · ang fūslēoþ (mournful poem or piece of music) · cs pohřební píseň (mournful poem or piece of music) · ca cant fúnebre (mournful poem or piece of music) · pt elegia (mournful poem or piece of music) · ar تَرْنِيمَة جَنَائِزِيَّة (mournful poem or piece of music) · ro elegie (mournful poem or piece of music) · la aelinos (mournful poem or piece of music) · hu panaszdal (mournful poem or piece of music) · mi pihe (mournful poem or piece of music) · mk та́жалка (mournful poem or piece of music) · ko 비가 (mournful poem or piece of music) · sq lashtërishtë (mournful poem or piece of music) · ba йыназа (mournful poem or piece of music) · ko 장송가 (mournful poem or piece of music) · de Trauersang (mournful poem or piece of music) · fi suruvirsi (mournful poem or piece of music) · hu halotti ének (mournful poem or piece of music) · cmn 哀歌 (mournful poem or piece of music)