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Elegy vs. Eulogy
Both elegy and eulogy may be used about writing or speech in remembrance of a person who has passed away, and this semantic overlap creates the potential for confusion. Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, “song of mourning”) commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition. While eulogy is also commonly found referring to words about the deceased, its basic meaning, both in English and in the Greek language from which it was borrowed, is “praise.” Formed from the Greek roots eu “good” and logos “speech,” a eulogy is an encomium given for one who is either living or dead. If you are praising your partner’s unsurpassed beauty or commending the virtues of the deceased at a funeral, you are delivering a eulogy; if you are composing a lamenting reminiscence about a person who has long since passed, you are writing an elegy.
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Eulogies Aren't Only for Funerals
With its -logy ending, eulogy means literally something like "good speech". We are told to speak only good of the dead, but a eulogist actually makes a speech in the dead person's honor--or often instead for someone living, who might actually be there in the audience. The most famous eulogies include Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Pericles' funeral oration for the Athenian warriors; but these are only two of the many great eulogies, which continue to be delivered not only at funerals and memorial services but at retirement parties, anniversary parties, and birthday parties.
Synonyms
Examples of eulogy in a Sentence
Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2024
After Lily leaves her blank eulogy notes on his tombstone, the Bloom family embraces and walks away.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024
Concluding the eulogies was Willie Brown, former San Francisco mayor and longtime speaker of the California Assembly who came of age politically with Alatorre in Sacramento during the 1970s.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
Playbill reported in 2003 that Weaver and Simpson featured their child in The Guys, a film adaptation of an Anne Nelson play that tells the story of an editor who helps a fire captain write eulogies for his firefighters who died in the 9/11 attacks.
—Emily Blackwood, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for eulogy 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eulogy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Eulogy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eulogy. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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eulogy
noun
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