/traj"i dee/ , n. , pl. tragedies .
1. a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.
2. the branch of the drama that is concerned with this form of composition.
3. the art and theory of writing and producing tragedies.
4. any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme carried to a tragic conclusion.
5. the tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.
6. a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster: the tragedy of war.
[ 1325-75; ME tragedie tragedia, L tragoedia tragoidía, equiv. to trág ( os ) goat + oidé song (see ODE) + -ia -Y 3 ; reason for name variously explained ]