Pietà

[ pee-ey-tah, pyey-tah, pee-ey-tuh, pyey- ]

/ ˌpi eɪˈtɑ, pyeɪˈtɑ, piˈeɪ tə, ˈpyeɪ- /

Save This Word!

noun (sometimes lowercase)Fine Arts.

a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of the dead Christ, usually shown held on her lap.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Pietà

1635–45; <Italian: literally, pity <Latin pietāspiety; cf. pity

Words nearby Pietà

Piers Plowman, pier table, pies, Piesporter, piet, Pietà, Pietas, Pietermaritzburg, Pietism, piet-my-vrou, Pietro da Cortona

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Pietà in a sentence

Her new single, “Pieta,” is something you can worship and blaspheme at the same time.
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?|David Yaffe|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I shot Pieta with the equivalent of $100,000… My aim is to take the temperature of the world from time to time.
The Most F-ed Up Movie of the Year: 'Moebius,' a Castration and Incest-Fueled South Korean Satire|Marlow Stern|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And up until Elin, the final act has been become borderline pieta.
What Tiger's Mom Saw|Lizzie Skurnick|December 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
This suddint bust of centiment on mi part, awoke the sleapin pieta of the trak pedlar, and he at wunst tuk me tu do for swarin.
Josh Billings, Hiz Sayings|Henry Wheeler Shaw

You didn't read the words in raised letters on the base of the pieta?
The Last Miracle|M. P. Shiel
She remembered how once she had stood with him in St. Peter's—in front of the "Pieta."
The Higher Court|Mary Stewart Daggett
In one chapel the Pieta of Michael Angelo, a marble group, and a masterpiece of his, is placed.
Curiosities of Christian History|Croake James
The neighbouring church of St. Pieta, on the contrary, can be called large and grand.
A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy|Ida Pfeiffer

British Dictionary definitions for Pietà

pietà

/ (pɪɛˈtɑː) /

noun

a sculpture, painting, or drawing of the dead Christ, supported by the Virgin Mary

Word Origin for pietà

Italian: pity, from Latin pietās piety

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

Cultural definitions for Pietà

Pietà

[ (pyay-tah; pee-ay-tah) ]

A painting, drawing, or sculpture of Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding the dead body of Jesus. The word means “pity” in Italian.

notes for Pietà

The most famous of four Pietàs by Michelangelo is a sculpture at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.