dirge

/dɜːdʒ/

//dɜːdʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dirge" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dirge” is uncommon English (frequency #60,769 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,769
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dirge · dirge · English

dirge · rank #60,769 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,769
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dinnertime

Nearest frequency peer: dinnertime (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “dirge”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dirge” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dirge
PropertyValue
Headworddirge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɜːdʒ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#60,769
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dirge” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).dirgefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “dinnertime” (#60,768), “dismember” (#60,770), “doggedly” (#60,771). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dirge” is #60,769. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dirge is uncommon English at frequency #60,769 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɜːdʒ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for dirge, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is dirge, spelled D-I-R-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person.
  2. 2
    A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dirge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Therefore our ſometimes Siſter, now our Queen, / Th’ imperiall Ioyntreſſe of this warlike State, / Haue we, as ’twere, with a defeated ioy, / With one Auſpicious, and one Dropping eye, / With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage, / In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole / Taken to Wife […]
  2. While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, “William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy 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.

This word in other languages

Klagelied(Deutsch)elegia(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dirge"?
"dirge" is spelled D-I-R-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɜːdʒ/.
What does "dirge" mean?
As a noun, "dirge" means: A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person.
How do you pronounce "dirge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dirge" is /dɜːdʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dirge"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dirge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dowel#60,773dozer#60,774Deniz#60,754Eldar#60,788

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list