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Elegy vs. Eulogy
Both elegy and eulogy may be used about writing or speech in remembrance of a person who has passed away, and this semantic overlap creates the potential for confusion. Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, “song of mourning”) commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition. While eulogy is also commonly found referring to words about the deceased, its basic meaning, both in English and in the Greek language from which it was borrowed, is “praise.” Formed from the Greek roots eu “good” and logos “speech,” a eulogy is an encomium given for one who is either living or dead. If you are praising your partner’s unsurpassed beauty or commending the virtues of the deceased at a funeral, you are delivering a eulogy; if you are composing a lamenting reminiscence about a person who has long since passed, you are writing an elegy.
Examples of elegy in a Sentence
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2024
Carl, whom Vogel has also written about in her elegy The Baltimore Waltz, grows up fast and hyperliterate.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2024
What a gift to read her intimate elegy to her best friend, who died by suicide.
—The Week Us, theweek, 16 Apr. 2024
It was meant less as an elegy than as a reminder of diplomacy’s significance.
—William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2019
See all Example Sentences for elegy 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elegy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near elegy
Cite this Entry
“Elegy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elegy. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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elegy
noun
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