"The wailing of the Kirghiz women, hidden in the thickets, was like the dirging of lost souls."

-The Daughter of Erlik Khan

dirge.

[dərj]

NOUN

dirges (plural noun)

a lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite.

synonyms: elegy · lament · burial hymn · threnody · requiem · funeral march · keen

•a mournful song, piece of music, or poem:

ORIGIN

Middle English (denoting the Office for the Dead): from Latin dirige! (imperative) ‘direct!,’ the first word of an antiphon (Psalm 5:8) used in the Latin Office for the Dead.