piteous, a.
(ˈpɪtiːəs)
Forms: see below.
[ME. pytos, pitous, a. OF. (12th c.) pitos, (13th c.) piteus, AF. pitous = Pr. pidos, pitos, Cat. piados, Sp. piadoso, OIt. piadoso (It. pietoso):—L. type *pietōs-us (med.L. in Du Cange), f. pietāt-em piety (cf. -itous). The regular phonetic form in mod. Eng. from Fr. would be pitous (from L. pietōsus); the β forms in -uous, -evous, -ewous, and γ forms in -ious, -yous, -eous appear to be Eng. developments, the former influenced by words historically in -uous, -ivous, or OE. adjs. in -wis; the latter app. conformed to the n. pité, pitie, pity. Cf. bounteous, dainteous, plenteous; also beauteous, courteous, righteous.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 3–4 pitos, pytos, 3–5 pitous, -e, 4 pitus, -e, (pytis, putus), 4–5 pytous, -e, pittows.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10087 He deide in a pitous cas. Ibid. 11395 Þat was a pitos dede. 13.. Cursor M. 24014 (Cott.) Ful pitus it was þat plaint. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1180 He herd þe pytous pleint. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 116 With suche pitouse wordes. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 161 The playne compleynt, the pittows wementyng! 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 358/2 He was moche pytous. |
(β) 3–5 pituos, 4 pituus, -uose, -uis, -uys, -wys, -evows, 4–5 pituous, -e, piteuous, -e, 5 pite-, pytevous, piti-, pityuous, pitteuous, pytewous, -e, pytewys, 5–6 pytuous, 5–6 (8) pituous, 6 pytuouse, -uose.
It is not clear whether the difference between -euous, -evous, -ewous, is merely graphical, nor whether u, v are here the vowel or the consonant.
| ? a 1300 Cursor M. 24014 (Edin.) Ful pituus it was þat plaint. c 1350 Pitevows [see B. 2]. c 1380 Pituouse [see B. 1]. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 106 For his pityuous doynges. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. st. 278 So mercyfull and so pytewys. 1422 Pitteuous, piteuouse [see B. 1]. c 1440 York Myst. xlvi. 188 With pitevous playnte. 1442 T. Beckington Corr. (Rolls) II. 189 Of your moost merciful and pituous grace. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. Pref. i. in Ashm. Theat. Chem. Brit. (1652) 121 O pytewouse puryfyer of Soules. 1530 Proper Dyaloge in Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 144 Their pituous supplicacyon. 1530 Palsgr. 320/2 Pytuouse, one that hath pytie. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 176 Such pouerty exercysyth wel the pytuose myndys. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art Conversation 47 He began to groan and weep in a pituous manner. |
(γ) 4–6 piteus, 4 pytius, 4– piteous, (5 pytyows, 5–6 pyteous, -e, piteose, 5–7 pitious, 6 pitiouse, pyti-, pitte-, pittious; pittieux). (Some early examples of piteus are perh. disyllabic and belong to α)
| 13.. Cursor M. 24014 (Gött.) Ful piteus it was hir plaint. 1340 Ayenb. 144 Þe oþer makeþ þe herte zuete and milde and piteus. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) x. 38 It es a piteous thing to behald. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 222 Now..shewe your pyteous face. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 402/1 Pytyows, or ful of pyte (H. pytevous, P. pitiuous). c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn iv. 19 Þe pyteouse tydynges. ? a 1500 in Rel. Ant. II. 125 In this piteose myscheffe. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxx. (Percy Soc.) 147 Without that she be to me piteous. 1552 Huloet, Pitious and pitifull. 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) P j, You have beane a litell pittieux. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 20 Her pitteous hart. 1596 Ibid. vii. vi. 6 O pittious worke of Mutability. |
(δ) (Chiefly Sc.) 4 petwis, -owiss, 5 petwys, petouse, -ows, -evous, -uis, petus, -ious, -uoss, 5–6 petous, -eous, -e, 6 petouss, -eouss, -ewous, -ewus, -uous.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 90 One crist callyt with petowiss stewyne. [1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 553 Petwisly. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. ccclxxxiv, Petwysly.] c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1144 With a peteous look. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 89 To be petous of poure men. c 1450 Holland Howlat 41, I herd ane petuoss appele. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 473, I am sa peteouse to the pur. a 1520 ― Poems lxiv. 13 Quhois petewous [v.r. -ewus] deithe dois to my hart sic pane. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xviii. 30 Makand ane petouss mone. |
B. Signification.
† 1. Full of piety; pious, godly, devout. Obs.
| c 1305 [implied in piteously 1]. c 1380 Antecrist in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 120 Þe pituouse martir ȝyveþ his body. 1382 Wyclif 2 Pet. ii. 9 The Lord knew for to delyuere pitouse [1388 piteuouse, Vulg. pios] men of temptacioun. c 1393 Chaucer Gentilesse 9 Truwe of his worde, sobur pitous and fre. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 138 That suche a Spekere by ryghtfull and Pitteuous. Ibid. 220 He shal be piteuouse, chaste, and lytill desyre company of women. 1570 Levins Manip. 226/24 Pitiouse, pius, misericors. |
2. Full of pity; affected with or feeling pity; compassionate, merciful, tender: = pitiful 2. arch.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 5488 So pitevows to þe pore hem prestili to help. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 190 It sit a king to be pitous Toward his poeple and gracious. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour D iij b, A fre hert and pyteous upon other mens peynes. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 62 The kyng like a piteous prince..graunted to them their askyng. 1624 Milton Ps. cxxxvi. 77 He hath with a piteous eye Beheld us in our misery. c 1750 Shenstone Elegies iii. 43 Piteous of woes, and hopeless to relieve. |
3. Exciting, appealing for, or deserving pity; moving to compassion; affecting, lamentable, deplorable, mournful; = pitiful 3.
| c 1290 [implied in piteously 3]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4180 A deoluol cry & a pitos wepinge. 13.. Cursor M. 14097 (Gött.) A pituse plaint to crist scho talde. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 45, I.. caste up many a pitous lok Unto the hevene. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 225 The piteouse histori of the four sones of Aymon. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedy 163 To luk vpoun thy gryslie peteous port. 1535 Coverdale 2 Macc. vi. 9 A piteous thinge was it to se. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xx. 24 b, Too make report of these piteous newes vnto the assieged. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. 41 The pitious estate wherein we had left that place. 1782 Cowper Gilpin 126 Down ran the wine into the road, Most piteous to be seen. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 400 Lightly the son forgat his parents' piteous ashes. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid iii. 39 A piteous groan from within sounds. |
b. as adv. = piteously 3.
| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 470 Ful petuose pale and no-thynge red. 1775 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opin. xlvii. (1783) II. 1 Compose thy griefs,..stop those tears; Cry not so piteous. |
† 4. Paltry, mean: = pitiful 4. Obs. rare.
| 1667 Milton P.L. x. 1034 That thy Seed shall bruise The Serpents head; piteous amends, unless Be meant [etc.]. |