A dirge is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. The English word dirge is derived from the Latin Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam, the first words of the first antiphon in the Matins of the Office for the Dead, created on basis of Psalms 5:8. The original meaning of dirge in English referred to this office.
