requiem Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person
    dirge; coronach; threnody; lament.
  2. noun a musical setting for a Mass celebrating the dead
  3. noun a Mass celebrated for the dead

WordNet

Re"qui*em noun
Etymology
Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. See Quiet, n., and cf. Requin.
Definitions
  1. (R.C.Ch.) A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul.
    We should profane the service of the dead To sing a requiem and such rest to her As to peace-parted souls. Shak.
  2. Any grand musical composition, performed in honor of a deceased person.
  3. Rest; quiet; peace. Obs.
    Else had I an eternal requiem kept, And in the arms of peace forever slept. Sandys.

Webster 1913