/ dɜːdʒ; NAmE dɜːrdʒ/ noun
1.
a song sung in the past at a funeral or for a dead person
2.
( informal , disapproving ) any song or piece of music that is too slow and sad
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (denoting the Office for the Dead): from Latin dirige! (imperative) direct!, the first word of an antiphon (Ps. 5:8) formerly used in the Latin Office for the Dead.