▪ I. pity, n.
(ˈpɪtɪ)
Forms: α. 3–6 pite, pyte, 4–5 pitee, 5 pytee, 5–6 pytie, (-ye), 5–7 pitie, (5–6 -ye), 6– pity. β. 4–5 pitte, 4–6 pytte, 5–7 pittie, (-ye), 6 pyttye, 6–7 pitty. γ. 3–6 pete, 4 petey, 4–6 -ty(e, 5–6 -tie. See also piety.
[ME. pite a. OF. pitet (11th c.), pitez, pité, pitié (12th c.), mod.F. pitié, ad. L. pietās, pietātem piety. The Fr. pitié was the popular phonetic repr. of pietātem; pieté a clerical adaptation of pietās, and pité app. a semi-popular intermediate form.
The sense of L. pietās ‘piety’, was in late L. extended so as to include ‘compassion, pity’, and it was in this sense that the word first appears in OF. in its two forms pitié and pieté. Gradually these forms were differentiated, so that pieté, which more closely represented the L. form, was used in the orig. L. sense, while pitié retained the extended sense. In ME. both pite and piete are found first in the sense ‘compassion’, subsequently both are found also in the sense ‘piety’; the differentiation of forms and senses was here scarcely completed by 1600.]
I. † 1. The quality of being pitiful; the disposition to mercy or compassion; clemency, mercy, mildness, tenderness. Obs. (or merged in next.)
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 368 Deuocion, reoufulnesse, merci, pite of heorte. a 1300 Assump. Virg. (Camb. MS.) 169 Sune, þu art ful of pite. c 1368 Chaucer (title) Compleynte to Pite. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 1026 For pure pytte & Ioy þai gret. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. v, Pyte is no thyng ellis but a right grete wylle of a debonary herte for to helpe alle men. 1483 Cath. Angl. 282/1 Fulle of Pytie, humanus. 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster ii. ii. 293 A little proud but full of pittie. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 262 Let thy pitie moue thee to make intercession for vs. |
2. a. A feeling or emotion of tenderness aroused by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, and prompting a desire for its relief; compassion, sympathy. Formerly sometimes with pl. in reference to a number of persons.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 263/83 Þare miȝte ech man deol i-seo, ho-so of pite couþe. a 1300 Cursor M. 3976 Wit-outen pite he wald him sla. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 903 Ffor pitee renneth soone in gentil herte. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2997 Pitee..is..To help him þat men sen in meschif smert. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iv. 97 Quhat hairt so hard for petie will not bleid? 1605 B. Jonson Volpone iv. v, The sight will rather mooue your pitties, Then indignation. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. vi. 27 Griefe, for the Calamity of another, is Pitty. 1753 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 63 We melt in Pity of his Fate. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. iii. 438 The still tears, stealing down that furrrow'd cheek, Spoke pity, plainer than the tongue can speak. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxiii, Pity for a horse o'er-driven. |
b. Phr. to have pity or take pity [F. avoir pitié, prendre pitié (12th c.)]: prop., to conceive or feel pity; usually, to show or exercise pity, to be merciful or compassionate. Const. † of (obs.), on, upon.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 170/2241 Þe pope hadde ful grete pite. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 2274, Y pray þe, Þat þou haue on me pyte. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles Prol. 23, I had pete of his passion þat prince was of Walis. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 944 Wallace tharoff in hart had gret pyte. 1535 Coverdale Job xix. 21 Haue pite vpon me, haue pite vpon me (o ye my frendes). 1611 Bible Prov. xix. 17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. 1841 Lane Arab. Nts. I. 112 Have pity on me then. |
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 247 When that the lordes hadde sein Hou wofully he was besien, Thei token Pite of his grief. Ibid. 200. 1600 in Shaks. C. Praise 38, I am to entreat you that you will take pittie of mee. 1709 Atterbury Serm., Luke x. 32 (1726) II. 241 Take Pity upon Them, who cannot take Pity upon themselves. 1837 Hallam Hist. Lit. i. iv. (1855) I. 304 note, Which leads me to take pity on paper, or rather on myself. |
c. In exclamatory phrases of adjuration, entreaty, etc.: † for pity (obs.; cf. for shame!); for pity's sake (cf. for goodness' sake, for mercy's sake).
| 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop iii. xix, Helas for god & for pyte I pray yow that ye wylle hyde me within your racke. 1529 Latimer 1st Serm. on Card (1886) 27 Alas, for pity! the Rhodes are won and overcome by these false Turks. 1593 Drayton Idea lii, Rebate thy spleen, if but for pities sake! 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 132 Alack, for pitty. 1650 B. Discolliminium 41, I except my speciall Friends, for pity-sake. 1771 P. Parsons Newmarket I. 36 Suffer me..to beg your opinion—but for pity's sake..let it be compassionate. Mod. For pity's sake, do be quiet! |
3. transf. a. A ground or cause for pity; a subject of condolence, or (more usually) simply of regret; a regrettable fact or circumstance; a thing to be sorry for: in phrases, † pity (it) is, was, were (obs.); it is, was, would be (a) pity; the more (is) the pity, a thousand pities, a great pity, etc. In early use without a.
| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 1266 Pitee were I shulde sterve Syth that I wilned noon harme. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 36 Above alle erthely thynges sche lovyd him mare,..So dud he hur..That was the more pete. c 1440 Generydes 33 Gret pite that she..Shuld sette hyr wurchippe. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 107 Full gret slauchtyr, at pitte was to se. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xxii. 68 It were grete pyte to lese Gryflet. Ibid. ii. xvi. 94 Grete pyte it was of his hurte. 1526 Tindale Acts xxii. 22 A waye with soche a felowe from the erth! Yt is pitie thet he shulde live. 1542 in Parker Dom. Archit. II. 200 The towneshipp of Kylham..hath in yt nether tower or barmekin nor other fortresse whiche ys greatt petye. 1588 J. Udall Demonstr. Discipl. (Arb.) 48 It is a pitie to see howe farre the office of a bishop is degenerated from. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. i. 22, I, and 'twere pittie, to sunder them, That yoake so well together. 1625 Burges Pers. Tithes 67 It is a thousand pitties they should want blowes who will doe nothing without them. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. iii. 55 It is a great pity we should not be..friends. 1746 H. Walpole Let. to H. S. Conway 24 Oct., What a pity it is I was not born in the golden age of Louis the Fourteenth. 1797 R. M. Roche Children of Abbey (ed. 2) III. iii. 26 Poor thing, she is going fast indeed, and the more's the pity, for she is a sweet creature. 1848 J. Ruskin Let. 22 Sept. in M. Lutyens Ruskins & Grays (1972) xvii. 158 You and my mother must be left at least tranquil as you are to be left—more's the pity—now so much alone. 1851 E. C. Gaskell Let. May (1966) 838 It is a small old fashioned farm..at the foot of the hill. More's the pity. 1853 Trench Proverbs 140 Lessons which it would be an infinite pity to lose. 1875 ‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Feb. 217 A chance to get acquainted with a youth who had taken deck passage—more's the pity; for he easily borrowed six dollars of me. 1880 L. Stephen Pope ii. 40 It would be a pity to alter it. 1890 Spectator 1 Nov. 582/1 More's the pity that we cannot adopt something like the Swiss Referendum. |
b. Idiomatically with of (= in relation to, in respect of, about). Obs. or arch.
| a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 53 Men of these maners there be now a dayes to mani, of the whiche it is the more pitee. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Acts 83 b, Al the Iewes..with great clamour cried, that it was pitie of his life [= that he should live: see Acts xxii. 22]. 1598 Chapman Blinde Begger Wks. 1873 I. 38 Twas pittie of his nose, for he would have beene a fine man els. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iii. 42 Iul. Must die tomorrow?..Pro. Tis pity of him. 1604 ― Oth. iv. i. 206 But yet the pitty of it, Iago! 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 586 They were insensible to praise and blame... And yet it was pity of them: for they were physically the finest race of men in the world. |
† 4. a. A condition calling for pity; pitiable state; sad fate. Obs.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 729* Þus plenys þis prouud knyght þe pyte of hys fader. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8686 The petie & the playnt was pyn for to here! Ibid 11948 Kyng Priam the pite persayuit onone. 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xxxvii. 62 In a man deformed, and rarely qualified..his virtues..be, as it were, things set off with more glory, by the pitty and defect of the other. |
† b. An object of pity. Obs. rare.
| 1712 Addison Spect. No. 305 ¶3 The Statesmen who have appeared in the Nation of late Years, have..rendered it either the Pity or Contempt of its Neighbours. |
† 5. Grief for one's own wrong-doing; remorse, repentance. to have pity, to repent. Obs.
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour I ij, We ought to..haue pyte and be shamefull of that that we haue done. 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 58 They..knocke thy conscience, mouing pitie there. |
† II. 6. a. = piety (in its current senses). Obs.
(The primary sense of L. pietas, but in Eng. later than senses 1 and 2, and at length superseded by piety.)
| 1340 Ayenb. 222 He ne zeneȝ[eþ] naȝt..uor pite him stereþ þet to done. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 193 Þat þat bicomeþ wymmen bihetynge pite, bi goode werkis. 1382 ― 2 Pet. iii. 11 To be in holy lyuyngis and pitees [L. pietatibus]. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 9 God the endew withe a croune of glory; And withe septre of clennes and pitee. 1483 Cath. Angl. 282/1 A Pytye, pietas; eusebia. |
† b. spec. = piety 3 b. Obs.
| [1423 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 229, 1 Tabulet, ovec 1 Pite, & 1 autre ymage de Nostre Dame.] 1489 Will R. Partrich thelder of Sudbury 8 Dec. (P.C.C., 1 Dogett), A Crucifix of the pitie of our lorde. 1522 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 20 For the anorment and light of our ladie of pitie in the said churche. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 190 You come to the Chappel of our Lady of Pity, which is under the Mount Calvary. |
III. 7. Comb. (from sense 2), as pity-begging, pity-bound, pity-moving, pity-proof, pity-worthy adjs.
| 1592 Arden of Feversham (1897) iii. i. 41 What pity-moving words, what deep-fetched sighs. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 561 Her pittie-pleading eyes are sadlie fixed In the remorselesse wrinckles of his face. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. i. Sect. vi. 82 The weeping eyes, and pitty-begging looks of those Mothers. 1747 Mem. Nutrebian Crt. II. 90 In the most submissive and pity-moving terms. 1809 Campbell Gert. Wyom. iii. xi, The pity-proffered cup. 1884 Longm. Mag. 380 He was not altogether pity-proof. |
Add: [I.] [3.] c. Without art. introducing subordinate clause: = ‘it is (or was) a pity (that)...’. colloq.
| 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara ii. 240 Pity you didn't rub some [snow] off with your knees, Bill! That would have done you a lot of good. 1915 H. Rosher In R.N.A.S. (1916) 117 Pity I'm not due for another spot of leave yet. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 315 Still, says Bloom, on account of the poor woman, I mean his wife.—Pity about her, says the citizen. 1956 R. Robinson Landscape with Dead Dons ix. 79 Pity we got off to a duff start. 1968 E. Bowen Eva Trout (1969) ii. iii. 209 Pity it rained when we were on the river, nothing is wetter than a punt. 1976 Beano 17 Jan. 12/3 Squirrels can be fierce... Eek!.. Pity you didn't tell me that earlier, cub! |
▸ pity party n. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.) an instance of (or occasion for) indulging in self-pity or eliciting pity from others.
| 1978 B. Mandrell (title of song) *Pity party. 1979 Washington Post 2 Dec. g6 He used to have his little pity parties all by himself... At first I tried to join him in them, but they never helped. They just made the poor fellow feel worse. 2001 N.Y. Times 14 Jan. ix. 8/1 ‘Pity parties’, where she stays in bed for 48 hours, watching movies like ‘Terms of Endearment’ repeatedly until she is cried out. |
▪ II. pity, v.
(ˈpɪtɪ)
[f. prec. n., prob. after OF. piteer, pitier, F. pitoyer.]
1. trans. To feel pity for; to compassionate, commiserate, be sorry for. (In mod. use sometimes implying slight contempt for a person on account of some intellectual or moral inferiority attributed to him. Cf. pitiful 4, pitying.)
| 1529 More Suppl. Soulys Wks. 337/2 Whoso pittieth not vs, whom can he pittie? 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 236 No good at all that I can do for him, Vnlesse you call it good to pitie him. 1611 Bible Ps. ciii. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that feare him. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Persian Wars ii. 41 Megas, Bishop of Berrhœa..besought him to pitty men who never offended him, nor were in case to resist him. 1754 Richardson Grandison IV. vii. 55, I can pity others, or I should not deserve pity myself. 1838 Lytton Alice i. x, Am I not to be pitied? 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 75 He who is unjust is to be pitied in any case. Mod. I pity you if you can't understand a plain statement like that. |
† 2. To move to pity, excite the compassion of; to grieve. Usually impersonal, i.e. with subject clause (mostly inf.) introduced by it. Obs.
| 1515 in Archæologia XLVII. 304 It wold petye ony mannys hert to here the shrykes and cryes. 1535 Coverdale Ps. ci[i]. 14 Thy seruauntes haue a loue to hir stones, and it pitieth them to se her in the dust. c 1616 S. Ward Coal from Altar (1627) 30 It pitieth me for Laodicea that lost so much cost. 1666 Pepys Diary 20 July, Old Mr. Hawly, whose condition pities me. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Hist. vi. viii. §4 It would pity one's heart to observe the change. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 62 He would have pitied every body, for he had no clothes, nor daddy nor mammy at all. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. I. 171 The poor creatures..slipped about in a way that it pitied you to see them. |
† 3. intr. (or trans. with inf. or obj. clause.) To be moved to pity; to be sorry, grieve. Obs.
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Gal. 14, I pitie to see you go from suche good beginnynges. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 36 At the one he greatly pitied, at the other he reioysed. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 211 Pittying how they stood Before him naked to the aire. 1670 C. Gataker in Gataker's Antid. Errour To Rdr. B, The love of Truth, which he pitied to see..opposed by Old Adversaries. 1862 C. M. Yonge C'tess Kate xii. 222 Sylvia and Charlie, took it all in, pitied, wondered, and were indignant, with all their hearts. |
4. trans. To grieve for, regret. Obs. or arch.
| 1656 Wood Life 22 July (O.H.S.) I. 209 Proctor died..he was much admired at the meetings, and exceedingly pittied by all the faculty for his loss. 1851 [see pitied]. |