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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
Geoffrey Mak, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2023
In elegy, too, Simonides performed his feats of commemoration.
—A.e. Stallings, The New York Review of Books, 17 Aug. 2023
The poems are elegiac, and once again her followers may read this as personal elegy — which is only hinted at.
—Carol Muske-Dukes, Washington Post, 2 Sep. 2023
The episode ends on a lonely airplane tarmac, with a solo piano playing another of Britell’s themes and then a more impassioned elegy for organ and orchestra.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
As elegy—or, perhaps, requiem—Anthology Film Archives, an East Village paradise of experimental and avant-garde cinema for the past 52 years, presents Shopping Worlds, a series of films dissecting the social and cultural phenomenon of the mall.
—Sarah Chekfa, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2023
Alaska news is full of climate elegies now—every one linked to wrenching changes caused by burning fossil fuels.
—WIRED, 15 July 2023
Alaska news is full of climate elegies now — every one linked to wrenching changes caused by burning fossil fuels.
—Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, 9 July 2023
But Danyel Smith’s elegy delivers something altogether different.
—Longreads, 11 Aug. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elegy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin elegia poem in elegiac couplets, from Greek elegeia, elegeion, from elegos song of mourning
1501, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near elegy
Cite this Entry
“Elegy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elegy. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
elegy
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on elegy
Nglish: Translation of elegy for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of elegy for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about elegy
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