Laments English members taking to wit (7)
I believe the answer is:
elegies
'laments' is the definition.
('elegy' can be a synonym of 'lament')
'english members taking to wit' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'members' becomes 'legs' (leg is a kind of member).
'taking' indicates putting letters inside.
'to wit' becomes 'ie' ('to wit' can mean namely or i.e.).
'legs' placed around 'ie' is 'legies'.
'e'+'legies'='ELEGIES'
(Other definitions for elegies that I've seen before include "Laments for the dead" , "Mourning songs" , "Poems of mourning" , "Lamenting poems" .)