elegiac
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What is the definition and pronunciation of the word “elegiac”?
It's the Word of the Day podcast for September 21st. Today's word is elegiac,
spelled E-L-E-G-I-A-C. Elegiac is an adjective. It means of relating to or comprising an elegy, an elegy being a sorrowful poem or song, and especially one that expresses sorrow for someone who is dead. Elegiac often describes a poem, song, piece of writing, etc., that mourns something now past.
How is “elegiac” used in literature and what example is given from The New Yorker?
Here's the word used in a sentence from The New Yorker by Katie Waldman. Jacqueline Harpman was writing in a different era, but the elegiac loneliness of her fiction anticipates our own solitary and screen-bound present. Is there anyone out there? Her book seems to ask. How do I find you? As a wise man once sang, sad songs say so much.
What is the historical origin of “elegiac” and its connection to elegy and Greek poetry?
Just how much they say has never been definitively quantified, but it is notable that English has the perfect adjective, elegiac, to describe things that are sorrowful or nostalgic in ways that suggest poetic and musical tearjerkers. Elegiac was borrowed into English in the 15th century from the late Latin adjective elegiacus, which in turn comes from the Greek word elegiakos. Elegiakos traces back to the Greek word for elegiac couplet, which was elegion. It's no surprise, then, that the earliest meaning of elegiac referred to such poetic couplets. These days, of course, the word is also used to describe anything sorrowful or nostalgic.
How does the host wrap up the episode and where can listeners learn more about the word?
As you may have guessed, another descendant of elegion in English is elegy, which in its oldest sense refers to a poem in elegiac couplets, and now can also refer to a somewhat broader range of laments for something or someone that is now lost. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the definition and pronunciation of the word “elegiac”?
0:06–0:38
2
How is “elegiac” used in literature and what example is given from The New Yorker?
0:38–1:04
3
What is the historical origin of “elegiac” and its connection to elegy and Greek poetry?
1:04–1:49
4
How does the host wrap up the episode and where can listeners learn more about the word?
1:49–2:19