The meaning of English dirge is not directly related to the meaning of the Latin word it comes from. Dirge and its earlier form dirige, meaning "a song or hymn of mourning," come from the first word of a Latin chant used in the church service for the dead: "Dirige, Domine deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam." (Direct, O Lord my God, my way in thy sight). Because hymns and chants were often referred to by their first words, dirge became the common word for this chant. Later it was used for any slow, solemn piece of music.
bagpipes played a haunting dirge at the funeral for the fallen leader
Recent Examples on the WebEveryone burst out into one soul-slicing dirge of laughter that seeped into the next room, into Doug’s ears. Stephanie Hayes, Sun Sentinel, 13 Sep. 2022 In New Orleans terms, this was the point in the jazz funeral where the dirge ends and the uptempo music sets the deceased’s soul free.cleveland, 5 Sep. 2022 And in that sense, as funeral dirge, the song fits! Liza Lentini, SPIN, 20 July 2022 The track is a prog-y, experimental dirge that appears to be inspired by the brutal colonialist rule the United States has imposed on Puerto Rico, where guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López was born. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 July 2022 The second movement, processional and severe, is a pavane, not a dirge; this music needs motion, and Bach Collegium imbued this most famous of the symphony’s movements with a sense of solemn dance lost at a slower tempo. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 The prisoners’ choral dirge is heated by squeals of brass, smoking underneath; along with Betty’s enigmatically tender aria, this is the most intriguing music of the opera.New York Times, 15 May 2022 Standing at the edge, the three clergymen intoned a dirge, in a low, melodious chant. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 2 May 2022 Helping pull the whole construct together is Hazma Bouchnak’s original score, which stretches from dirge-like ominousness to more playfully expressive moods. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 15 Dec. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English dirige, the Office of the Dead, from the first word of a Late Latin antiphon, from Latin, imperative of dirigere to direct — more at dress