1. a lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite.
▪ a mournful song, piece of music, or sound: "singers chanted dirges"
▪ a song or piece of music that is considered too slow, miserable, or boring:"after his ten-minute dirge, the audience booed"
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting the Office for the Dead): from Latin dirige! (imperative) ‘direct!’, the first word of an antiphon (Ps. 5:8) formerly used in the Latin Office for the Dead.