tragedy (English)

Where does "tragedy" come from?

Our word 'tragedy' traces back to the Ancient Greek 'tragōidía', a compound literal meaning 'goat song'. This curious name likely refers to early performers dressed as goat-satyrs or perhaps to a goat awarded as a prize during theatrical competitions. The word traveled through Latin and Old French before entering Middle English, eventually evolving from a specific genre of drama into a general term for any disastrous event.

Full etymology tree

• tragedy (English), 'A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character.'
  • inherited tragedie (Middle English), 'tragedy (type of dramatic work)'
    • borrowed tragedie (Old French)
      • borrowed tragoedia (Latin), 'tragedy'
        • borrowed τραγῳδία (tragōidía) (Ancient Greek), 'a tragedy or heroic play'
          • derived τραγῳδός (tragōidós) (Ancient Greek), 'tragic poet and singer'
            • compound τράγος (trágos) (Ancient Greek), 'billy-goat'
              • derived τρᾰ́γω (trắgō) (Ancient Greek)
            • compound ἀοιδός (aoidós) (Ancient Greek), 'musical'
              • inherited *awoidós (Proto-Hellenic), 'singer'
              • deverbal ᾰ̓είδω (ăeídō) (Ancient Greek)
    • borrowed tragoedia (Latin), 'tragedy'
      • borrowed τραγῳδία (tragōidía) (Ancient Greek), 'a tragedy or heroic play'
        • derived τραγῳδός (tragōidós) (Ancient Greek), 'tragic poet and singer'
          • compound τράγος (trágos) (Ancient Greek), 'billy-goat'
            • derived τρᾰ́γω (trắgō) (Ancient Greek)
          • compound ἀοιδός (aoidós) (Ancient Greek), 'musical'
            • inherited *awoidós (Proto-Hellenic), 'singer'
            • deverbal ᾰ̓είδω (ăeídō) (Ancient Greek)

Direct ancestors

• terh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
• tragedie (Middle English)
• tragoedia (Latin)
• τραγῳδία (Ancient Greek)

Updated May 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris