[ele.gi.ac] also el.e.gi.a.cal adj [LL elegiacus, fr. Gk elegeiakos, fr. elegeion] (1542) 1 a: of, relating to, or consisting of two dactylic hexameter lines the second of which lacks the arsis in the third and sixth feet b (1): written in or consisting of elegiac couplets (2): noted for having written poetry in such couplets c: of or relating to the period in Greece about the seventh century b.c. when poetry written in such couplets flourished
2: of, relating to, or comprising elegy or an elegy; esp: expressing sorrow often for something now past "an ~ lament for departed youth" -- elegiac n -- el.e.gi.a.cal.ly adv