A. Lament
In addition to other kinds of song (magic songs: Hor. Epod. 17,29; Ov. Ars am. 2,102; childrens' verses: Hor. Epist. 1,1,63; general songs: Hor. Carm. 3,28,16), in Rome nenia is a technical term for a dirge sung to the flute in praise of a dead person in their funeral procession (Fest. 154/5 L.; Quint. Inst. 8,2,8; cf. Cic. Leg. 2,62). The origin and derivation of the presumably onomatopoeic (cf. [1. 386]) word has not been explained: a Greek origin (owing to Cic. Leg. 2,62) is accepted by [2], rejected by [3. 221].
Acc…