Definition of ELEGY

Elegy vs. Eulogy

Both elegy and eulogy may be used about writing or speech in remembrance of a person who has passed away, and this semantic overlap creates the potential for confusion. Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, “song of mourning”) commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition. While eulogy is also commonly found referring to words about the deceased, its basic meaning, both in English and in the Greek language from which it was borrowed, is “praise.” Formed from the Greek roots eu “good” and logos “speech,” a eulogy is an encomium given for one who is either living or dead. If you are praising your partner’s unsurpassed beauty or commending the virtues of the deceased at a funeral, you are delivering a eulogy; if you are composing a lamenting reminiscence about a person who has long since passed, you are writing an elegy.

Examples of elegy in a Sentence

“O Captain! My Captain!” is Walt Whitman's elegy on the death of President Lincoln

Recent Examples on the Web The Invite is a humor and light-verse contest, and so the Empress is not looking for flowery elegies. — Washington Post, "Style Invitational Week 1365: Dead Letters, our obit poem contest," 2 Jan. 2020 This elegy by Montse Reyes for San Jose’s Lowrider magazine, which ceased print publication in December, is compelling and wonderful. — Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, "The most despair-inducing Bay Area dishes of 2019," 13 Jan. 2020 Freaknik is an ode to a unique city, and an elegy for one of the greatest music festivals that ever existed. — Laura Jane Standley, The Atlantic, "The 50 Best Podcasts of 2019," 27 Dec. 2019 Inside a converted 1928 home with adobe walls and wood beams is this restaurant, an elegy for the ancestral food of the region which includes culinary references from the Rapa Nui, Mapuche, and Aimará people. — Kaitlin Menza, Town & Country, "The Best Things to Do in Santiago, Chile," 20 Sep. 2019 The Irishman feels like an apotheosis, an elegy, and a penance all at once. — Jack Hamilton, The Atlantic, "Goodbye to the Goodfellas," 31 Oct. 2019 Carson’s great elegy and polemic, which followed pesticides through their whole cycle of destruction, ignored the mainly Latino farm workers of California and Florida, who were directly exposed to pesticides in their work in the fields. — Will Meyer, Longreads, "A Green New Jail," 24 Oct. 2019 Indeed, where the symphony offers an elegy, the concerto is pulled constantly downward as if by gravity. — Joshua Barone, New York Times, "Review: Carnegie Hall’s Season Opens With Two Faces of Cleveland," 6 Oct. 2019 The book is an elegy for the author’s grandfather Midori. — Brandon Shimoda, Harper's magazine, "The Fruits of Suffering," 19 Aug. 2019

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