tragedy English · revision 197
5 Oct 2026, 22:15 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈtɹæd͡ʒ.ɪ.di/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtɹæd͡ʒ.ɪ.di/, /ˈtɹæd͡ʒ.ə.di/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− Recorded from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) From [[enm|tragedie]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|tragedie]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) [[der|la|tragoedia]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|grc|τραγῳδία|tr=tragōidía]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) apparently “goat song”, from ''trágos'' “goat” + ''ōidḗ'' “song”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ From [[enm|tragedie]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|tragedie]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) [[der|la|tragoedia]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|grc|τραγῳδία|tr=tragōidía]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) apparently “goat song”, from ''trágos'' “goat” + ''ōidḗ'' “song”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) According to Beekes, ''trágos'' means etymologically “gnawer, eater”, and the compound is probably modelled on ''rhapsōidós''.^(Etymonline)
− Many theories have been offered for the name,^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) including actors dressed in goatskins as satyrs and a goat given as a prize,^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) and some dispute the connection with goats altogether.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Compare [[ode]].^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A grave or dignified literary work with a calamitous or sorrowful ending (late 14th century);^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in medieval use, a tale or narrative poem of this kind.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) Chaucer, translating Boethius, defines it as a story of prosperity for a time that ends in wretchedness.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Many theories have been offered for the name,^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) including actors dressed in goatskins as satyrs and a goat given as a prize,^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) and some dispute the connection with goats altogether.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In English the word was first used of ancient dramatic pieces or of modern poems and tales;^(Etymonline) it was applied to contemporary stage plays by the 1530s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and to a branch of the dramatic arts from the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The extended meaning “fatal event, calamity” dates from c. 1500.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1374 – a medieval tale with a disastrous ending.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1412–20 – the branch of drama.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1430 – applied to ancient Greek and Latin works.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1509 – “a dreadful calamity”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1538 – a modern stage play.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A serious play or other work in which the main character suffers ruin or great sorrow.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The genre of such works, or the art of writing them.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A disastrous event, especially one involving great loss of life.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[tragedize]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[tragedian]]
+ * [[tragic]]
+ * [[tragicomedy]]
+ * [[ode]]
+ * [[comedy]]
==References==