tragedy
tra·gedy
noun
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
- “the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity”
- “the earthquake was a disaster”
drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity
Origin
From the Middle English tragedie, from the Old French tragedie, from the Latin tragoedia, from the Ancient Greek τραγῳδία (tragōidía, “epic play, tragedy”), from τράγος (trágos, “male goat”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”), possibly a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians, or according to Beekes possibly to a goat given as prize, though the etymology remains uncertain.
Phrases
- comedy and tragedy
- comedy equals tragedy plus time
- revenge tragedy
- tragedy mask
- tragedy of the commons
Related words
Broader terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.