pathos
[ pey-thos, -thohs, -thaws ]
noun
the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity, or of sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion.
pity.
Obsolete. suffering.
Origin of pathos
1First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek páthos “suffering, sensation, experience,” akin to páschein “to suffer, feel, be affected”; cf. pathetic
Words that may be confused with pathos
- bathos, pathos
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for pathos
pathos
/ (ˈpeɪθɒs) /
noun
the quality or power, esp in literature or speech, of arousing feelings of pity, sorrow, etc
a feeling of sympathy or pity: a stab of pathos
Origin of pathos
1C17: from Greek: suffering; related to penthos sorrow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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