I. |elə̇|jīək, -lē|- also -īˌak; also ə̇ˈlējēˌak or ēˈlē- adjective
also el·e·gi·a·cal |elə̇|jīəkəl, -lē|-
Etymology: Late Latin elegiacus, from Greek elegeiakos, from elegeion elegiac couplet, elegy
1.
a. : consisting of two dactylic hexameter lines the second of which is often felt to be pentameter and is made up of two hemistichs each containing two dactyls and a long syllable : consisting of two dactylic hexameter lines the second of which has the short elements omitted in the third and sixth feet — usually used of classical Greek couplets
b. : comprising or metrically similar to the second line of such a couplet
c.
(1) : written in or consisting of such couplets
(2) : noted for having written poetry in such couplets
d. : of or relating to the period in Greece around the seventh century B.C. when poetry written in such couplets flourished
2. : of, relating to, befitting, or comprising elegy or an elegy
an elegiac poem on the death of a friend
especially : expressing sorrow or lamentation often for something now past : plaintive , nostalgic , melancholy
an elegiac regret for departed youth
an elegiac lament for a long-lost tradition
elegiac poignance, excruciating nostalgia — Peggy Bennett
3. : being the meter characteristic of a kinah — compare kinah meter
II. noun
( -s )
: an elegiac couplet, verse, or poem