I. ˈdərj, -ə̄j, -əij noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dirige, derge, from Latin dirige (singular present imperative active of dirigere to direct, make straight), the first word of an antiphon adapted from Ps 5:9 (Vulgate) that opens the first nocturn in the Office of the Dead — more at dress
1. archaic : the Office of the Dead in the Roman Catholic Church
2.
a. : a psalm sung for a departed soul in the Roman Catholic Church ; also : a requiem mass
b. : a song or hymn expressing grief or a solemn sense of loss especially to accompany funeral or memorial rites
c. : any slow solemn and mournful piece of music
3.
a. : a piece of writing resembling a dirge in being expressive of deep and solemn grief or sense of loss ; especially : a poem of this kind
b. : any sorrowful or lugubrious literary expression
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. archaic : to sing a dirge for
2. archaic : to sing as if a dirge
intransitive verb
: to give forth a dirge or a sound like or having the effect of a dirge