elegiac

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>elegiac</strong> &#149; \el-uh-JYE-ak\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 a :</strong> of, relating to, or consisting of two <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dactylic">dactylic</a> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hexameter">hexameter</a> lines the second of which lacks the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arsis">arsis</a> in the third and sixth feet</p> <p><strong>b (1) :</strong> written in or consisting of elegiac couplets</p> <p><strong>(2) :</strong> noted for having written poetry in such couplets</p> <p><strong>c :</strong> of or relating to the period in Greece about the seventh century b.c. when poetry written in such couplets flourished</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> of, relating to, or comprising <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elegy">elegy</a> or an elegy; <em>especially</em> <strong>:</strong> expressing sorrow often for something now past</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"And so 'Names of Horses,' a very different but also <em>elegiac</em> poem, with its litany of remembered farm animals' names, helped lead to 'Names of My Mother's Friends'…, with its litany of women's names of a previous generation, and its tribute to names and ways of life that have passed out of currency." — <a href="https://www.pe.com/2021/04/03/lucky-accidents-can-help-finish-or-start-poems/">Judy Kronenfeld, <em>The Press-Enterprise</em> (Riverside, California), 3 Apr. 2021</a></p> <p>"The novel is <em>elegiac</em> in a way, but it's also a celebration of the city's artistic spirit. Looking back gives us an opportunity to think how we can bring that spirit back because it's been such a vital part of our history and who we are." — <a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/jasmin-darznik-spins-fascination-ov