释义 |
pityn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French pité. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman pité, pittee, peté, peti, Anglo-Norman and Old French pitet, pitee, pitié (Middle French pité , pitié , French pitié ) compassion (c1100), piety (15th cent.; rare) < classical Latin pietās (see piety n.). In branch II. probably after Middle French pieté piety n.The sense of Latin pietās ‘piety’ was in post-classical Latin extended so as to include ‘compassion, pity’ (Vetus Latina), and it was in this sense that the word first appears in Old French in its two forms pitié and pieté . Gradually these forms were differentiated, so that pieté , which more closely represented the Latin form, was used in the original Latin sense, while pitié retained the extended sense. In Middle English, both pity n. and piety n. are found first in the sense ‘compassion’, and subsequently in the sense ‘piety’, and the differentiation in sense is not complete until the 17th cent. In sense 2a after French avoir pitié , prendre pitié (c1100 in Old French). With the preposition compare French s'apitoyer sur . With sense 3 (and phrases at that sense) compare Middle French c'est granz pitez , Middle French, French c'est grand pitié (1382), French c'est pitié , c'est une pitié (1668), quelle pitié (1730). Earlier currency of the word is perhaps implied by the surname Willelmus Pitie (1195), although it is unclear whether this reflects the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word; for what is apparently a variant of the name of the same individual see piety n. I. Senses relating to mercy, tenderness, or regret. the mind > emotion > compassion > [noun] > mercy a1250 (?a1200) (Nero) (1952) 167 Deuociun..merci, pite of heorte. c1300 (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1901) l. 169 Sune, þu art ful of pite. c1385 G. Chaucer 1761 At the last aslaked was his mood, For pitee [v.r. pete] renneth soone in gentil herte. 1474 W. Caxton tr. (1883) ii. v. 62 Pite is nothynge ellis but a right grete will of a debonaire herte for to helpe alle men. ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 96v Full of pitie, humanus. ?a1525 (?a1475) Play Sacrament l. 823 in N. Davis (1970) 83 Now lett thy pete spryng and sprede; Thowgh we haue be vnrygh[t]full, forgyf vs owr rygore. 1602 B. Jonson ii. ii. sig. Dv A little proude, but full of pitie . View more context for this quotation 1613 S. Purchas 262 Let thy pitie moue thee to make intercession for vs. a1657 W. Mure Misc. Poems in (1898) I. 27 Such ane heavinly face Can not bot giwe pitty place. 2. the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity or compassion [verb (intransitive)] > show pity or compassion a1300 in C. Brown (1932) 124 (MED) Hayl mari..haf pite of me and merci. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 3008 (MED) To ech torment þat þou wolt us do we beþ ȝare in þis place, Bote þou wole of vs abbe here pite & grace. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vii. 4643 (MED) Thei token Pite of his grief. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) 2274 Y pray þe, Þat þou haue on me pyte. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 250 Wallace tharoff in hart had gret pyte. 1535 Job xix. 21 Haue pite vpon me, haue pite vpon me (o ye my frendes). 1538 sig. O2 Ffor one kynred had noo more pyte of that other. than an hungry wulf hathe of a shepe. 1611 Prov. xix. 17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. View more context for this quotation 1675 C. Cotton 32 Take pity prethee, Upon a poor old Cinque and Quater, Has paid for playing the Creator. 1709 F. Atterbury 22 Take Pity upon Them, who cannot take Pity upon themselves. 1786 H. Cowley sig. H3 Oh dear Sir, there'll be nothing but rapes and murder! Oh take pity on us poor virgins, Sir, and go. 1841 E. W. Lane tr. I. 112 Have pity on me then. 1847 H. Hallam I. i. iv. 298 Which leads me to take pity on paper, or rather on myself. 1922 J. Joyce ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 373 He still had pity of the terrorcausing shrieking of shrill women in their labour. 1959 D. Lessing 43 Myra (breaking down and crying for a few seconds before pulling herself together): Tony, have some pity on me sometimes. 1995 Spring 60/1 A neighbor will take pity on you, huddled by your Weber in the snow, and invite you over for dinner. the mind > emotion > compassion > [noun] the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > capacity for emotion > fellow feeling > [noun] the mind > emotion > love > tenderness > [noun] > tenderness aroused by the suffering of others c1300 St. Mary of Egypt (Laud) 83 in C. Horstmann (1887) 263 Þare miȝte ech man deol i-seo, ho-so of pite couþe. c1330 (Auch.) (1966) 101 (MED) Orfeo..seyd wiþ grete pite, ‘O lef liif, what is te Þat euer ȝete hast ben so stille, & now gredest wonder schille?’ a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 3976 (MED) Wit-outen pite he wald him sla. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve (Harl. 4866) (1897) 2997 Pitee..is..To help him þat men sen in meschif smert. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 33 Wherefore kynge Lotte wepte for pite and dole that he saw so many good knyghtes take their ende. 1567 R. Sempill (single sheet) Quhat hairt so hard for petie will not bleid? 1607 B. Jonson iv. v. sig. K The sight will rather mooue your pittyes, Then indignation. View more context for this quotation 1651 T. Hobbes i. vi. 27 Griefe, for the Calamity of another, is Pitty. 1722 E. Thomas sig. I5 Hadst thou a faithful Friend, Would..cordial Pitty lend, Oh this thou think'st Relief! 1753 A. Murphy No. 63 We melt in Pity of his Fate. 1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in 112 The still Tears, stealing down that furrow'd Cheek, Spoke Pity, plainer than the Tongue can speak. 1850 Ld. Tennyson lxi. 87 Pity for a horse o'er-driven. View more context for this quotation 1906 J. Galsworthy 74 For all her affectionate pity, it was impossible to keep out of her smile a trace of compassionate contempt for the woman who had made such a mistake. 1986 P. Auster (1988) ii. 190 Blue feels compassion rising up in him, a rush of pity for that forlorn figure across the street. the mind > language > speech > request > [phrase] > earnest expressions 1484 W. Caxton tr. iii. xix Helas for god & for pyte I pray yow that ye wylle hyde me within your racke. 1529 H. Latimer 27 Alas, for pity! the Rhodes are won and overcome by these false Turks. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. ii. 132 Alack, for pitty . View more context for this quotation 1619 M. Drayton Idea in (rev. ed.) 270 Rebate thy Spleene, if but for Pitties sake. 1650 N. Ward 41 I except my speciall Friends, for pity-sake. 1771 P. Parsons I. 36 Suffer me..to beg your opinion—but for pity's sake..let it be compassionate. 1814 E. S. Erskine 148 Fly not for pity!—stay! deluder stay! 1882 C. H. Hoyt (MSS) iii. 47 Bright... (Aside) By Jove, I shall cry, if she doesn't stop. (Aloud) For pity's sake let up on the tear business Jean. 1913 W. J. Locke xix. 258 ‘What's the matter with her, for pity's sake?’ asked Herold. 1990 No. 1. 7 Every night for a week, that same horrible dream..for pity's sake..what's happening to me? 3. the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > a matter for regret the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [noun] > cause or ground for pity c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 11730 (MED) Reuþe it was ido þat sir simon..de membred was so, vor sir willam..Carf him of fet & honde & is limes manion, & þat mest pite was. c1390 Charter Abbey Holy Ghost (Laud) in C. Horstmann (1895) I. 345 (MED) Adam..fel seke & died, & his wyf boþe, & here soules wenten to helle, & þat was grete pyte. c1440 (a1400) (Thornton) (1965) 36 (MED) He loued na mare þan þat lady so free..It was þe more pete! a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 561 That were grete pyte..that so good a knyght as he is sholde be slayne so cowardly. 1526 Acts xxii. 22 A waye with soche a felowe from the erth! Yt is pitie thet he shulde live. 1588 J. Udall x. 52 It is a pitie to see howe farre the office of a bishop is degenerated from. 1625 C. Burges 67 It is a thousand pitties they should want blowes who will doe nothing without them. 1719 D. Defoe 59 It is great Pity we should not be..Friends. 1746 H. Walpole Let. 24 Oct. in (1974) XXXVII What a pity it is I was not born in the golden age of Louis the Fourteenth. 1797 R. M. Roche (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 (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. 1853 R. C. Trench 140 Lessons which it would be an infinite pity to lose. 1874 A. Trollope I. xxv. 204 ‘It is a pity you did not take the coronet when I offered it you.’ ‘Nay, duke, it was no pity.’ 1901 R. Kipling ii. 58 ‘Pity it is that these and such as these could not be freed from the Wheel of Things,’ said the lama. 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara ii. in 240 Pity you didn't rub some [snow] off with your knees, Bill! That would have done you a lot of good. 1932 H. Walpole ii. 272 Westaways had been created by an artist, and it was a thousand pities that in the autumn of 1836 it was pulled down. 1988 39 552 It is a pity that this collection of essays was not published about 30 years ago. 2000 A. Morus Green Trees by River in J. Thomas 191 Oh, but you should have seen it. Pity you missed it. the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > a matter for regret ?c1450 tr. (1906) 53 (MED) Men of these maners there be now a dayes to mani, of the whiche it is the more pitee. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus I. Acts 83 b Al the Iewes..with great clamour cried, that it was pitie of his life [= that he should live: see Acts 22:22]. 1598 G. Chapman sig. Ev Twas pittie of his nose, for he would haue bene a fine man els. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) iv. i. 191 But yet the pitty of it Iago, the pitty. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. iii. 44 Iul. Must die tomorrow?.. Pro. 'Tis pitty of him. View more context for this quotation 1855 T. B. Macaulay III. xv. 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. 1900 E. H. Strain 151 If the doags dinna get a haud o' something, it's a peety o's! 1931 A. J. Cronin iii. ix. 620 I hope ye have done splendid... For if ye haven't then, by God! it'll be the pity of ye. 1985 M. Gallant 27 The pity of parties is that they end. the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > remorse society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun] c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) (1973) 9858 (MED) A word he seyd of grete pite..‘Þurth mi sinne and mi desray Icham comen to mi last day.’ c1390 G. Chaucer 292 I trowe at Troye whan Pirrus brak the wal..Nas herd swich tendre wepyng for pitee As in the chambre was for hir departynge. c1400 (?c1380) 1206 (MED) Ouer þis hyul þis lote I laȝte For pyty of my perle enclyin. a1450–1500 ( (1926) 705 (MED) I haue pite..of thys thynge That I shall saye..I ham aferde that Yrelonde wol be shente. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry (1971) lxxxxix. 132 We ought to..haue pyte and be shamefull of that that we haue done. 1591 i. sig. F3v They..knock thy conscience, moouing pitie there. †5. the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > state of misery the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [noun] > pitiable condition a1500 (?a1400) (Trin. Dublin) 729* Þus plenys þis prouud knyght þe pyte of hys fader. c1540 (?a1400) 11948 Kyng Priam the pite persayuit onone. 1628 O. Felltham xxxvii. 113 In a man deformed, and rarely qualified..his vertues..be as it were things set off with more glory, by the pitty and defect of the other. the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [noun] > object of pity 1572 E. Campion Let. in E. Waugh (1946) i. 33 (modernized text) You are sixty years old, more or less, of uncertain health, of weakened body, the hatred of heretics, the pity of Catholics, the talk of the people, the sorrow of your friends. 1633 T. May i. l. 472 Those instruments..Will soone..make this king, Whose strength the world so much admires, and feares,..to be The pity of his foes. 1712 J. Addison No. 305. ¶3 The Statesmen who have appeared in that Nation of late Years, have..rendered it either the Pity or Contempt of its Neighbours. 1767 L. Sterne IX. xxiv. 92 And who is poor Maria? said I. The love and pity of all the villages around us; said the postillion. II. Senses relating to piety. society > faith > aspects of faith > piety > [noun] 1340 (1866) 222 He ne zeneȝeȝ [read zeneȝeþ] naȝt..uor pite [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues riȝtwisnesse] him stereþ þet to done. c1384 (Royal) 2 Peter iii. 11 To be in holy lyuyngis and pitees [L. pietatibus]. ?c1430 (a1400) J. Wyclif (1871) III. 193 Þat þat bicomeþ wymmen bihetynge pite bi goode werkis. ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 96v Pytie, pietas, eucilia [1483 BL Add. 89074 eusebia]. a1500 (?c1425) (1936) 60 (MED) Fastyng is thus deuydid: Other it is of institucion and ordynaunce, or ellis it is of deuocion, or ellis of pite. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie (1895) II. 16 Bot..he had leuir be accuiset of pitie toward his barnes..O singular pietie! he had leuir see his deir sones..hing..or any way vnfaythfull he war fund to his natiue cuntrie. society > faith > artefacts > symbol (general) > Christian symbols or images > [noun] > representing the Virgin > with Christ's body in lap 1416 in A. H. Thomas (1943) IV. 49 (MED) [One image called] pyte [of alabaster]. a1438 (1940) i. 148 Sche went to þe cherch..wher þis creatur sey a fayr ymage of owr Lady clepyd a pyte, And thorw þe beholdyng of þat pete hir mende was al holy ocupyed in þe Passyon of owr Lord. c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Fifteen Joys 10 in (1911) i. 268 (MED) Of fortune turnyng the book, I fond A meditacioun..Tofor which was sett out in picture Of Marie an ymage ful notable; Lyke a pyte depeynt was the figure With weepyng eyen and cheer most lamentable. 1522 in J. W. Clay (1902) VI. 20 For the anorment and light of our ladie of pitie in the said churche. 1558 (a1449) J. Lydgate (1911) i. 298 (MED) Remembre all so this dolorus pytie, How þat this blyssid ladye thus doth enbrace Her dere son ded, lygyng vpen her kne. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot i. 190 You come to the Chappel of our Lady of Pity, which is under the Mount Calvary. 1772 S. Denne & W. Shrubsole 347 Sir Edward Dering imagined this to have been the chapel formerly called the chapel of our lady of pity. 1894 K. Tynan 90 She stands, Our Lady of Pity, Over the old church porch. 1953 7 Jan. 8/7 The central group of this shrine..represents Our Lady of Pity holding the body of the dead Christ. 2003 (Nexis) 21 June The new Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia..will celebrate Mass at the town's Church of Our Lady of Pity. Compounds C1. (In sense 2b.) 1649 Bp. J. Taylor i. vi. 82 The weeping eyes, and pitty-begging looks of those Mothers. 1592 sig. D.4v What pitty-mouing words? what deepe fetcht sighes? 1747 tr. II. 90 In the most submissive and pity-moving terms. 1854 G. A. Sala in 14 Jan. 457/1 For one Porphyrogenitus..to come to poverty..is very wretched and pity-moving to view. 1594 W. Shakespeare sig. E2v Her pittie-pleading eyes are sadlie fixed In the remorselesse wrinckles of his face. View more context for this quotation 1809 T. Campbell iii. xi The pity-proffered cup. 1884 380 He was not altogether pity-proof. 1992 (Nexis) 10 Aug. b2 These novels are inhabited by sturdy, resilient, pity-proof characters. C2. 1978 B. Mandrell (title of song) Pity party. 1979 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 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. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). pityv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pity n. Etymology: < pity n. Compare Middle French pitier , piteer (1350), Middle French pitoyer (15th cent.; compare French pitoyer (1894, apparently rare, perhaps re-formed after pitoyable pitiable adj.)). Compare Old French, Middle French, French†apitier to feel pity (early 13th cent.), Old French, Middle French, French apitoyer to cause (a person) to feel pity (end of the 13th cent. as apitoier). Compare Old Occitan piadar. the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity for [verb (transitive)] ?a1475 (1922) 155 (MED) Now lede vs alle to þe kyngys halle..we pray to the wyttys to wete he may us pete. 1529 T. More ii. f. xliiv Who so pytyeth not vs, whom can he pyte? 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. i. 237 No good at all that I can doe for him, Vnlesse you call it good to pitty him. View more context for this quotation 1611 Psalms ciii. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that feare him. View more context for this quotation 1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Persian Wars ii. 41 in tr. Procopius Megas, Bishop of Berrhœa..besought him to pitty men who never offended him, nor were in case to resist him. 1703 J. Gilbert 239 [They]..should by no means insult over their Brethren overtaken in a Fault, but rather pity them and be concerned for them, having sorrow on their behalf. 1753 S. Richardson IV. vii. 55 I can pity others, or I should not deserve pity myself. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton I. i. x. 83 Am I not to be pitied? 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato (ed. 2) V. 75 He who is unjust is to be pitied in any case. 1908 R. Brooke 22 But I, remembering, pitied well And loved them, who, with lonely light, In empty infinite spaces dwell, Disconsolate. 1966 D. Niland 16 ‘So I pity you.’ ‘Get ripped,’ he said. ‘What's more,’ I said, ‘you're unintelligent.’ 1991 A. Tan x. 179 I pitied him, all his weaknesses exposed in front of others like that. the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > affect with pity [verb (transitive)] 1515 C. Garneys Let. in (1883) 47 304 It wold petye ony mannys hert to here the shrykes and cryes. 1535 Psalms ci[i]. 14 Thy seruauntes haue a loue to hir stones, and it pitieth them to se her in the dust. c1616 S. Ward (1627) 30 It pitieth me for Laodicea that lost so much cost. 1666 S. Pepys 20 July (1972) VII. 211 Old Mr. Hawly, whose condition pities me. 1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War vi. viii, in tr. Josephus 942 It would pity one's heart to observe the change. 1766 H. Brooke I. v. 164 He would have pitied every body, for he had no cloaths, nor daddy nor mammy at all. 1900 W. Dickinson & E. W. Prevost 245/1 It fair pitied me to see t'poor auld galloway so sairly failed. 1953 M. Traynor 213 It fills one with pity. It would pity you to see it. the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity or compassion [verb (intransitive)] 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus II. Gal. iv. f. xiiii I pitie to see you go from suche good beginnynges. 1578 J. Lyly f. 2 At the one hee greatly pittied, at the other he reioysed. 1639 R. Baillie Let. in (1975) I. 133 I pitied much to see men take the advantage of the time. 1667 J. Milton x. 211 Pittying how they stood Before him naked to the aire. View more context for this quotation 1800 July 10 Lothario and I rallied him on paying his addresses to the beggar-woman. He pitied, and we laughed. 1862 C. M. Yonge xii. 222 Sylvia and Charlie, took it all in, pitied, wondered, and were indignant, with all their hearts. 1912 Aug. 881/1 He heard her cry out, he heard her deeply pitying. ‘Oh, poor, poor Stanley!’ 1966 J. Fowles xviii. 110 She could still pity. the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > sorrow caused by loss > suffer sorrow for loss of [verb (transitive)] 1585 R. Lane Let. 8 Sept. in (1860) 4 15 Hyt hathe not at three severalle tymes taken a finalle overthrowe; the which had bene gretely to have beene pyttyed..in respecte of the losse of soo many subjects. 1604 C. Edmondes II. vii. xxiii. 97 Much to be pitied, that vertue should at any time be ouerquelled with a greater strength. 1656 A. Wood (1891) I. 209 Proctor died..he was much admired at the meetings, and exceedingly pittied by all the faculty for his loss. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.a1250 v.?a1475 |