pitiful
English
Alternative forms
- pitifull (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English pityful, piteful, piteeful, equivalent to pity + -ful.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɪt.ɪ.fl̩/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
pitiful (comparative pitifuller, superlative pitifullest)
- (now rare) Feeling pity; merciful.
- c. 1588–1593, [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: Printed by Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, […], published 1594, OCLC 222241046, [Act II, scene iii]:
- Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The whilſt their owne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittiful.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
- Straightway, he now goes on to make a full confession; whereupon the mariners became more and more appalled, but still are pitiful.
-
- So appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it; eliciting pity.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lamentable
- Scotland has a pitiful climate.
- Of an amount or number: very small.
- A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up.
Translations
so appalling or sad that one feels or should feel sorry for it
|
of an amount or number: very small
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
This article is issued from
Wiktionary.
The text is licensed under Creative
Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.