elegiac Hear it!

elegiac Definition

el·egi·ac (el ē′jē ak′, i lē′-; el′ə jī′ak′, -ək)

adjective

  1. Gr. & Latin Prosody of or composed in dactylic-hexameter couplets, the second line (sometimes called a pentameter) having only an accented syllable in the third and sixth feet: the form was used for elegies and various other lyric poems
  2. of, like, or fit for an elegy
  3. sad; mournful; plaintive

Etymology: LL elegiacus < Gr elegeiakos < elegeia: see elegy

noun

  1. an elegiac couplet
  2. a series of such couplets; poem or poems written in such couplets

elegiac Synonyms

elegiac

modif.

sorrowful, mournful, funereal, plaintive; see sad 1, 2.

elegiac Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • tone: Such a poem would employ a mournful or elegiac tone.
  • verse: A Book of Epigrams in heroic or elegiac verse.
  • poem: The young Sir Thomas More wrote an elegiac poem in her memory.
  • quality: Anthony Page directs the play with a little more speed and energy than its elegiac quality often inspires in directors, with mixed results.
  • note: Paul Morley spiked his elegiac liner notes to Billy Mackenzie's beautiful farewell LP Beyond the Sun with that great phrase.
  • couplet: What are the limits on Ovid's boldness in using Latin and deploying the elegiac couplet?

Modifying Another Word

almost: On the brilliant June evenings which seemed so frequent in these early years the whole atmosphere had an almost elegiac quality.