dirge

play

noun \ ˈdərj \

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

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dirgelike

play \-ˌlīk\ adjective

See dirge defined for English-language learners

See dirge defined for kids

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

Without pushing his voice or otherwise overstating his case, Wilson brought magisterial presence to the dirge, his rumbling low notes setting the stage for imploring high ones, Nosek’s harmonica tremolos wailing insistently as counterpoint.

— howard reich, chicagotribune.com, "Cash Box Kings shake up SPACE with 'Royal Mint'," 1 Aug. 2017
The list goes on and on like an unending funeral dirge.

— angela helm, The Root, "NYPD Guns Down Yet Another Black Person in Mental Distress, This Time in Brooklyn, NY," 31 July 2017
Not only did supporters of the all-but-vanished pro-Brexit UKIP Party spilt their votes between Conservatives and Labour, but the once-robust Scottish nationalist movement died like the dirge of a bagpipe.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "What Republicans can learn from the Tory tumble," 9 June 2017
Rather, this composition was a somber dirge, with each beat of the drums a profound proclamation of sorrow.

— peter g. chronis, The Denver Post, "The long, slow march to what is now Memorial Day weekend," 26 May 2017
A discussion that had begun with all the enthusiasm of a dirge was quickly moving in a more optimistic direction.

— christopher hawthorne, latimes.com, "Rich history, new anxieties inside MacArthur Park building where Berggruen Institute plans satellite," 25 May 2017
And then, in what seems to be one breath, the song shifts seamlessly to a slow, dirge-like crawl, and we are transported to a convention where Kendrick details the dangers of gun violence to a group of children.

— irvin weathersby, Esquire, "The Book of Kendrick: How DAMN. Transcends Religious Symbolism in Hip-Hop," 20 Apr. 2017
Every now and then, though, a glistening sweep of harp would cut through the dirge, sounding the possibility of glory in the wreckage.

— hua hsu, The New Yorker, "Alice Coltrane’s Devotional Music," 13 Apr. 2017
House Republicans pulled their health-care bill shortly before a vote on Friday, and for once the media dirge is right about a GOP defeat.

— WSJ, "The ObamaCare Republicans," 24 Mar. 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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