ˈtrajədē, -di noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English tragedie, from Middle French, from Latin tragoedia, from Greek tragōidia, from tragos he-goat + -ōidia (from aeidein to sing); probably from the ancient Greek tragedy's having been influenced by the Peloponnesian satyr play, in which the satyrs were represented as goatlike rather than horselike creatures; akin to Greek trōgein to gnaw — more at ode , terse
1.
a. : a medieval narrative poem or tale (as Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde ) typically describing the downfall of a great man
b.
(1) : a drama in verse or prose and of serious and dignified character that typically describes the development of a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny, circumstance, society) and reaches a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror
in the classical tragedy the solution was death — Domenico Vittorini
— compare catharsis , comedy
(2) : a nondramatic work (as a novel) that resembles a tragic drama in character, development, and conclusion
forcing the rhetoric of his tragedy … in the final pages most painfully — Vernon Young
c. : an ancient Greek lyric poem sung by a chorus
d. : a literary genre consisting of tragic dramas
relies upon the Aristotelian account of tragedy — Cleanth Brooks & R.B.Heilman
the study of tragedy is the study of men at their best — G.K.Chalmers
2.
a.
(1) : a disastrous often fatal event or series of events : calamity
got back … to find myself in the midst of tragedy — H.J.Laski
the scene of some of our most sickening road tragedies — Priscilla Hughes
revealed the evidence of a tragedy of long ago — W.E.Swinton
(2) : an unfortunate, sad, or discouraging occurrence or situation : bad luck : unhappy fate : misfortune
the plight of these people is a human tragedy which wrings the heart — H.G.Rickover
a tragedy that this rich … corner of the state has been so sadly neglected — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
the tragedy of plain women; to be valued, but not loved — Mary Austin
b. : an unqualified failure : flop , disaster
the one architectural tragedy on the university grounds — American Guide Series: Virginia
last night's party was a tragedy
3. obsolete : lamentation , jeremiad
I wail, and make my woes a tragedy — Edmund Spenser
4. : the tragic quality or element
comprehension of the tragedy of life as well as of its warmth and humor — Current Biography