dirge

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dirge

/dɜːdʒ/ UK
/dɝd͡ʒ/ US

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ

Where it comes from

From Middle English dirige, from Latin dirige (“steer, direct”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Doublet of dirige.

noun dirges

A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person. Therefore our ſometimes Siſter, now our Queen, / Th’ imperiall Ioyntreſſe of this warlike State, / Haue we, as ’twere, with a defeated ioy, / With one Auſpicious, and one Dropping eye, / With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage, / In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole / Taken to Wife [
Similar: lament, requiem, coronach, threnody, elegy, trental
informal A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.

verb dirges · dirging · dirged

To sing dirges

Translations

Every language

noun mournful poem or piece of music

Español	canto fúnebre
한국어	장송가 jangsongga, 만가 man'ga, 비가 biga, 조시 josi, 애가 aega
日本語	哀歌 aika, 弔歌 chōka
中文	輓歌 /挽歌 wǎngē, 哀樂 /哀乐 āiyuè, 哀歌 āigē
Português	elegia, nénia, nênia
Français	chant funèbre
Deutsch	Klagelied, Trauersang, Grabsang
Italiano	nenia, lamentazione, lagna
Română	cântec funebru, elegie, recviem
Русский	погреба́льная песнь pogrebálʹnaja pesnʹ, панихи́да panixída, ре́квием rékvijem
العربية	تَرْنِيمَة جَنَائِزِيَّة

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MLA

"dirge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dirge. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dirge. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dirge

Chicago

"dirge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dirge.

BibTeX

@misc{dirge_2026,
  title = {dirge},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dirge},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}