dirge

Etymology

From Middle English dirige, from Latin dirige (“steer, direct”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Doublet of dirige.

noun

1. A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.
   Over six sections – a prologue, a life-story, a dream-quest, a dirge, a masque and an epilogue – they meditate on their lives, their hopes, their losses, and on the human condition. 2010-04-09, Glyn Maxwell, “WH Auden's ‘The Age of Anxiety’”, in The Guardian
2. (informal) A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.

verb

1. To sing dirges