When you hear 'elegy' are you hearing English or Greek?

'Elegy' is a word borrowed from Greek 'elegeia'. The word entered the English language some time around 1501.

elegy [noun] [1501]

• a poem in couplets
• a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead
• something (as a speech) resembling such a song or poem
• a pensive or reflective poem that is usually nostalgic or melancholy

Meaning: a poem in elegiac couplets; a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead; something (as a speech) resembling such a song or poem.

Etymology: Latin elegia poem in elegiac couplets; from Greek elegeia; elegeion; from elegos song of mourning.

Topics: Arts:Music.

Origin: From French to English.

note: Possibly via French élégie.

See 'elegy' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Greek.

See more loan words from 1500s.