Dirge

A dirge is a sad song or poem of unhappiness. They are usually sung at funerals.[1] For example, a dirge was sung for the soldiers that had died in the Battle of Gettysburg before Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address. The word dirge came from the Latin word dirige, which means "direct".[2] It is likely that dirge also came from the old expression Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam ("Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God"). "Dirge", meaning to direct, is the same as a "dirigible" ("steerable") airship. These two words became connected in 1937 because of the Hindenburg disaster.

References

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  1. ↑ "Dirge - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". mw4.m-w.com. Retrieved 23 July 2010.[permanent dead link]
  2. ↑ "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com. Retrieved 23 July 2010.