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

• requiem – a piece of music played at a mass for the dead

• lyege