elegiac Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective resembling or characteristic of or appropriate to an elegy
    • an elegiac poem on a friend's death
  2. adjective satellite expressing sorrow often for something past
    • an elegiac lament for youthful ideals

WordNet

E*le"gi*ac adjective
Etymology
L. elegiacus, Gr. : cf. F. élégiaque. See Elegy.
Definitions
  1. Belonging to elegy, or written in elegiacs; plaintive; expressing sorrow or lamentation; as, an elegiac lay; elegiac strains.
    Elegiac griefs, and songs of love. Mrs. Browning.
  2. Used in elegies; as, elegiac verse; the elegiac distich or couplet, consisting of a dactylic hexameter and pentameter.
E*le"gi*ac noun
Definitions
  1. Elegiac verse.

Webster 1913