pity English · revision 10667

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1225|origins=fro pité|origins=la pietas}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpɪt.i/, US /ˈpɪt̬.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|pité]], pitié, compassion, mercy (modern pitié),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin [[m|la|pietās|t=piety, dutifulness]] (see [[piety]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from pius, pious.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) In later Latin pietās took on the sense of compassion and kindness,^(Hoad 1986) and Old French pite and piete had both meanings before they were told apart.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The disposition to mercy or compassion, clemency: before 1225 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 1250 as pite in the Ancrene Riwle;^(Barnhart 1988) the surname Pitie is from 1195.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A feeling of tenderness for another's suffering, and ''to have'' or ''take pity'', are from about 1290.^(OED 1989) A cause for regret (''it's a pity'') is from about 1369.^(OED 1989) In Middle English pity could also mean devotion to God, and pity and piety were not fully distinguished until the 17th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It replaced Old English mildheortness, “mild-heartedness”, a loan translation of Latin misericordia.^(Etymonline) The verb, to feel pity for, is from before 1475,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 15th century in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) to arouse pity in someone was common in the 16th and 17th centuries but is now obsolete.^(Etymonline) ''Pitiful'' is from about 1303.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1195 – Pitie (surname).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1225 – mercy, compassion.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1290 – to have pity.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1303 – pitiful.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1369 – a cause for regret.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1475 – to pity (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Sorrow and [[sympathy]] felt for the suffering of others.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that causes regret: ''what a pity you can't come''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''take pity on'': to show [[mercy]] or kindness to.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To feel pity for.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pityingly]]

+ * [[unpitied]]

+ * [[pitier]]

+ * [[pitiless]]

+ * [[piteous]]

+ * [[pitiable]]

+ * [[pitiful]]

+ * [[self-pity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[piety]]

+ * [[pious]]

+ * [[pittance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}