A mournful song or musical composition sung at a funeral; any music or words expressing grief or lamentation for the dead.
From Latin 'dirige,' the first word of the Latin Office for the Dead (Requiem Mass), from 'dirigere' (to direct). The word transferred from the liturgical service to any mournful song.
A dirge is literally named after a Latin prayer—'Dirige, Domine, vias meas'—and that ecclesiastical origin is why dirges sound so hauntingly formal and sacred!
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