Threnody
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A song or poem of lamentation or mourning for a dead person; a dirge; an elegy.
"The fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag"—and did not know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it with wearisome monotony for every camp call. . . . I never hated any piece of music as I came to hate that threnody of treason."
- 2 a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person wordnet
Example
More examples"The fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag"—and did not know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it with wearisome monotony for every camp call. . . . I never hated any piece of music as I came to hate that threnody of treason."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek θρηνῳδία (thrēnōidía, “lamentation”). Compare the New Latin thrēnōdia.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.