Elegiacal
/ˌɛlɪˈdʒeɪ.ə.kəl/noun
Pertaining to an elegy; mournful, plaintive, or expressed in a sorrowful tone.
Did you know?The root behind *elegiacal* goes back to Greek *elegeia*, a kind of lament sung with a reed pipe, so the word’s history is literally tied to mourning as performance.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
elegeia
“a lament or elegiac poem, often associated with mourning and reflective song”
Late Latin
Latin
elegiacus
“relating to elegy or elegiac verse”
Middle French
French
elegiaque
“elegiac, mournful, plaintive”
16th Century
English
elegiac
“pertaining to elegy; mournful in tone”
18th Century
English
elegiacal
“an extended adjectival form of elegiac, used in literary English”