- piteous
- piteous c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. pitous, O.Fr. pitos (12c.), from M.L. pietosus "merciful, pitiful," in V.L. "dutiful," from L. pietas "dutiful conduct, compassion" (see PIETY (Cf. piety)). Related: Piteously.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
piteous
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Piteous — Pit e*ous, a. [OE. pitous, OF. pitos, F. piteux. See {Pity}.] 1. Pious; devout. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] The Lord can deliver piteous men from temptation. Wyclif. [1913 Webster] 2. Evincing pity, compassion, or sympathy; compassionate; tender. [She] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
piteous — piteous, pitiable, pitiful All three words are recorded from Middle English and share the basic meaning ‘arousing pity’ and are to some extent interchangeable (as in The abandoned children were a piteous sight), although pitiful is the most… … Modern English usage
piteous — index deplorable, lamentable, lugubrious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
piteous — *pitiful, pitiable Analogous words: imploring, supplicating, entreating, beseeching (see BEG): *melancholy, doleful, dolorous, plaintive … New Dictionary of Synonyms
piteous — [adj] miserable, pathetic beseeching, commiserable, deplorable, distressing, doleful, dolorous, entreating, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, imploring, lamentable, melancholy, mournful, moving, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, poignant, poor,… … New thesaurus
piteous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ deserving or arousing pity. DERIVATIVES piteously adverb piteousness noun. ORIGIN Old French piteus, from Latin pietas dutifulness … English terms dictionary
piteous — [pit′ē əs] adj. [ME piteus < MFr < OFr pitous < LL(Ec) * pietosus < pietas: see PIETY] arousing or deserving pity or compassion SYN. PITIFUL piteously adv. piteousness n … English World dictionary
piteous — [[t]pɪ̱tiəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED Something that is piteous is so sad that you feel great pity for the person involved. [WRITTEN] As they pass by, a piteous wailing is heard. Syn: pitiful … English dictionary
piteous — piteously, adv. piteousness, n. /pit ee euhs/, adj. 1. evoking or deserving pity; pathetic: piteous cries for help. 2. Archaic. compassionate. [1250 1300; ME; r. pitous < OF < ML pietosus. See PITY, OUS] Syn. 1. affecting, moving, distressing,… … Universalium
piteous — See pitiable, piteous … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
