1. a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead
2. a poem written in elegiac couplets
Usage: literary

Examples

• The poet wrote an elegy for his deceased friend.
• Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ is a famous example of the form.
• The elegy captured the mourners’ deep sense of loss.
• She composed an elegy to commemorate the victims of the tragedy.
• The ancient Greeks often wrote elegies about love and death.
• His elegy for the fallen soldiers moved the entire audience to tears.