English Explanatory Dictionary

elegiac

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of or relating to an elegy.
  2. Expressing sorrow or mourning.
noun
  1. A poem composed in the couplet style of classical elegies: a line of dactylic hexameter followed by a line of dactylic pentameter.

Pronunciation

/ˌɛlɪˈd͡ʒaɪək/ /ˌɛlɪˈd͡ʒaɪˌæk/ /ˌɛləˈd͡ʒaɪək/ /ˌɛləˈd͡ʒaɪˌæk/ /ɪˈlid͡ʒiˌæk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-elegiac.wav

Word forms

elegiac more elegiac most elegiac elegaic elegiacs

Etymology

From Middle French élégiaque, from Latin elegīacus, from Ancient Greek ἐλεγειακός (elegeiakós).

Synonyms

sorrowful mournful atrabiliary atrabilious blitheless dispirited blue bummed out chapfallen cheerless chopfallen crestfallen cut up damp dejected depressed despondent disgruntled disconsolate disheartened dismal doleful dolesome down down in the dumps down in the mouth downcast downhearted downsome dull elegiac elegious forlorn gloomy glum grief-stricken grieving heavy-hearted heartsore heartsick inconsolable infelicitous jawfallen joyless lachrymose lamentful low low-spirited lugubrious lumpish melancholic melancholy miserable moody mopey morose passionate plaintive Plutonian Plutonic

Derived words

elegiacal elegiacally elegiac couplet elegiac pentameter unelegiac
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