dirge
English
Etymology
From Latin dirige (“steer”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam.
Pronunciation
Noun
dirge (plural dirges)
- A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.
- c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], lines 8–14, page 153, column 2:
- 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 […]
-
- (informal) A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.
Related terms
Translations
mournful poem or piece of music
|
|
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.