A threnody is a type of musical or poetic composition composed in memory of a deceased individual. The term originated in 1634 as “thrænody” before evolving to its current spelling with an “e”. It comes from the Ancient Greek word threnodia, which translates to “lamentation”. The word threnodia is formed from the roots threnos meaning “wailing” and oide meaning “ode” or “song”. The origin of threnos is uncertain, with theories ranging from it being onomatopoeic to having connections to Sanskrit, Latin, and Old English. Oide is linked to words like melody and rhapsody, tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root hweyd meaning “sing”. The use of the term threnody reached its peak in 1904 and has since declined in popularity.
