dirge

C2+ Topic:Art & Music

US /dɝdʒ/ UK /dɜːdʒ/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a mournful song or lament for the dead

A slow dirge accompanied the coffin to the grave.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a mournful song or lament... lament elegy requiem threnody keenmonody

Word family

Related forms direct dirigible

Etymology

From Middle English dirge, from Latin dirige ('direct!'), the imperative of dirigere, the first word of the antiphon ('Dirige, Domine...') in the Latin Office for the Dead.

dirige Latin dirigere Latin regere Latin

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Topics

Art & Music

# dirge

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** dɝdʒ
**IPA (UK):** dɜːdʒ

## Meanings
1. a mournful song or lament for the dead

## Examples
- A slow dirge accompanied the coffin to the grave.

## Synonyms
- lament
- elegy
- requiem
- threnody
- keen
- monody

## Related Forms
- direct
- dirigible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dirige
- Root: dirigere
- Root: regere

## Etymology
From Middle English dirge, from Latin dirige ('direct!'), the imperative of dirigere, the first word of the antiphon ('Dirige, Domine...') in the Latin Office for the Dead.

## AI Etymology
Dirge is from Middle English dirge, from Latin dirige ('direct!'), the imperative of dirigere, the first word of the antiphon ('Dirige, Domine...') in the Latin Office for the Dead. The ancestry passes through Latin dirige, Latin dirigere, and Latin regere. In present use as a noun, it means "a mournful song or lament for the dead", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include direct and dirigible. The surrounding word family keeps the same base visible in direct and dirigible, showing how the headword belongs to a larger cluster rather than standing alone.

## Topics
- Art & Music

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dirge

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