dirge

noun \ ˈdərj \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of dirge

1 : a song or hymn of grief or lamentation; especially : one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites

a funeral dirge

2 : a slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music

3 : something (such as a poem) that has the qualities of a dirge

—

dirgelike

play \-ˌlīk\ adjective

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Examples of dirge in a Sentence

bagpipes played a haunting dirge at the funeral for the fallen leader

Recent Examples of dirge from the Web

In lesser hands, this would have been a death metal dirge.

— josh wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Hard Sun' Creator on Show's "Visceral and Shocking" Violence," 8 Mar. 2018
Telling instrumental details emerged without spotlighting, especially in the sublimated tragedy of the slow movement, here a real funeral march as opposed to a dirge.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Blomstedt brought a too-familiar bit of CSO repertory to life," 2 Mar. 2018
Cloud cover kept the temperature mild as pallbearers carried Robinson's casket to the waiting hearse and the Kinfolk Brass Band played a dirge.

— ann maloney, NOLA.com, "Crowds join family for Arthur 'Mr. Okra' Robinson second-line," 26 Feb. 2018
The Vaqueros, whose attitude toward social media and promotion exhibited all the joy of a funeral dirge, hired Crescenta Valley Insurance president Rick Dinger as director of football operations.

— andrew j. campa, latimes.com, "Turning on the AC: Finally some buzz with Glendale Community College football," 24 Feb. 2018
The officer in the front seat synced his mobile phone to the police radio and sang along, karaoke style, to a popular rock dirge by Da Zhuang, with lyrics rolling up his screen.

— steven lee myers, New York Times, "A Dance for Tibetan New Year, Then 17 Hours in Custody," 18 Feb. 2018
The music spans distorted dirges, electronic ephemera and folksy tranquility, with her siren soprano vocals contrasting with the grittiness of the music, creating a striking contrast that has helped define her sound for many years.

— bryan reesman, Billboard, "Chelsea Wolfe on New Album 'Hiss Spun' & Tearing a Hole Through Perfection," 20 Sep. 2017
So goes a 19th-century German dirge describing a family's last resting place.

— conny paul, USA TODAY, "Are cemeteries dying out?," 1 Nov. 2017
Surely Queen Bey is to thank on some level for the Now deluxe edition’s two piano dirges being shaved off the 41-minute album proper.

— dan weiss, Billboard, "Shania Twain's 'Now': Not Quite Her 'Lemonade,' But Her First Album in 15 Years Couldn't Have Existed Without It (Critic's Take)," 4 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dirge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The meaning of English dirge is not directly related to the meaning of the Latin word it comes from. Dirge and its earlier form dirige, meaning “a song or hymn of mourning,” come from the first word of a Latin chant used in the church service for the dead: “Dirige, Domine deus meus, in conspectutuo viam meam” (Direct, O Lord my God, my way in thy sight). Because hymns and chants were often referred to by their first words, dirge became the common word for this chant. Later it was used for ant slow, solemn piece of music.

Origin and Etymology of dirge

Middle English dirige, the Office of the Dead, from the first word of a Late Latin antiphon, from Latin, imperative of dirigere to direct — more at dress

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First Known Use: 13th century

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