In this paper, we present a method by which it is possible to describe a dissipative system (that is modeled by a linear differential equation) in Lagrangian formalism, without the trouble of finding the proper way to model the environment. The concept of the presented method is to create a function that generates the measurable physical quantity, similarly to electrodynamics, where the scalar potential and vector potential generate the electric and magnetic fields. The method is examined in the classical case; the question of quantization is unanswered.
Keywords: Hamiltonian mechanics; Lagrangian framework; Lagrangian mechanics; calculus of variations; dissipation; harmonic oscillator.