Nearby Words
noun, plural -dies.
1.
a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.
2.
the branch of the drama that is concerned with this form of composition.
3.
the art and theory of writing and producing tragedies.
4.
any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme carried to a tragic conclusion.
5.
EXPANDthe tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.
6.
COLLAPSEa lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster: the tragedy of war.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English tragedie < Medieval Latin tragēdia, Latin tragoedia < Greek tragōidía, equivalent to trág(os) goat + ōidḗ song (see ode) + -ia -y3; reason for name variously explained
1325–75; Middle English tragedie < Medieval Latin tragēdia, Latin tragoedia < Greek tragōidía, equivalent to trág(os) goat + ōidḗ song (see ode) + -ia -y3; reason for name variously explained
Related forms
non·trag·e·dy, noun, plural -dies.
pro·trag·e·dy, adjective
su·per·trag·e·dy, noun, plural -dies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Tragedies
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tragedy
late 14c., "play or other serious literary work with an unhappy ending," from O.Fr. tragedie (14c.), from L. tragedia "a tragedy," from Gk. tragodia "a dramatic poem or play in formal language and having an unhappy resolution," apparently lit. "goat song," from tragos "goat" + oide "song." The connection
EXPANDmay be via satyric drama, from which tragedy later developed, in which actors or singers were dressed in goatskins to represent satyrs. But many other theories have been made (including "singer who competes for a goat as a prize"), and even the "goat" connection is at times questioned. Meaning "any unhappy event, disaster" is from c.1500.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
tragedy definition
A serious drama in which a central character, the protagonist — usually an important, heroic person — meets with disaster either through some personal fault or through unavoidable circumstances. In most cases, the protagonist's downfall conveys a sense of human dignity in the face of great conflict. Tragedy originated in ancient Greece in the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. In modern times, it achieved excellence with William Shakespeare in such works as Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. Twentieth-century tragedies include Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and Murder in the Cathedral, by T. S. Eliot.
Note: Aristotle argued that the proper effect of tragedy is catharsis — the purging of the emotions.
Note: In common usage, disasters of many kinds are called tragedies.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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