monody

Etymology

From Latin monodia, from Ancient Greek μονῳδία (monōidía).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒnədi/

Noun

monody (plural monodies)

1. An ode, as in Greek drama, for a single voice, often specifically a mournful song or dirge. [from 17th c.]
2. Any poem mourning the death of someone; an elegy. [from 17th c.]
3. A monotonous or mournful noise. [from 19th c.]
   • 1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:

     Stroke by stroke, the great familiar monody of that incomparable curfew rose and fell in the stillness.

4. (music) A composition having a single melodic line. [from 19th c.]

Anagrams

• odonym