pity

Where does the word "pity" come from? It comes from Latin pietas, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Pity’s story begins in Latin: pietas meant “dutifulness.” Dutiful devotion to gods, country and family; Virgil's hero is 'pius Aeneas'. By 1100s, the word had taken hold in Old French as pitié. Narrowed to compassion; the same Latin word, borrowed again, gave 'piety', and Italian gave the Pietà. It reached English by 1200s as pity. Shakespeare's Othello (c. 1603) gives the word its most famous line: 'But yet the pity of it, Iago! O Iago, the pity of it, Iago!'. Today, pity means sorrow and compassion caused by others' suffering.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical pietas "dutifulness", dutiful devotion to gods, country and family; Virgil's hero is 'pius Aeneas'.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · 1100s pitié "compassion", narrowed to compassion; the same Latin word, borrowed again, gave 'piety', and Italian gave the Pietà.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s pity "sorrow for another's suffering", Shakespeare's Othello (c. 1603) gives the word its most famous line: 'But yet the pity of it, Iago! O Iago, the pity of it, Iago!'.