tragedy

Etymology

Recorded from the late 14th century.^[1] From Middle English tragedie,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French tragedie,^[1][4] from Latin tragoedia,^[2][3] from Ancient Greek τραγῳδία (tragōidía),^[4][5] apparently “goat song”, from trágos “goat” + ōidḗ “song”.^[4][1]

Many theories have been offered for the name,^[4][5] including actors dressed in goatskins as satyrs and a goat given as a prize,^[1][6] and some dispute the connection with goats altogether.^[4][1] Compare ode.^[1]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org