planctus means A lament or dirge, a popular literary form in the Middle Ages. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “planctus” is a great word
PLANCTUS — [Noun] A medieval song or poem of grief, a direct and often liturgical lament for the dead. From Latin planctus ("a striking, beating, lamentation"). Unlike the formal, meditative "elegy" or the choral, public "threnody," a planctus is the raw, vocalized wound. It is the ragged chant over a bier, the rhythmic keening of a monastic choir, and the stark manuscript notation that captures the contour of a sob—the sound of mourning made ritual, before silence resumes its dominion.
noun
- A lament or dirge, a popular literary form in the Middle Ages.