pathos

noun

pa·​thos ˈpā-ˌthäs How to pronounce pathos (audio)
-ˌthȯs,
-ˌthōs How to pronounce pathos (audio)
 also  ˈpa-
1
: an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion
2
: an emotion of sympathetic pity

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Pathos Entered English in the 1500s

The Greek word páthos means "experience, misfortune, emotion, condition,” and comes from Greek path-, meaning “experience, undergo, suffer.” In English, pathos usually refers to the element in an experience or in an artistic work that makes us feel compassion, pity, or sympathy. The word is a member of a big family: empathy is the ability to share someone else’s feelings. Pathetic (in its gentlest uses) describes things that move us to pity. Though pathology is not literally "the study of suffering," it is "the study of diseases." Other relatives of pathos include sympathy, apathy, and antipathy.

Examples of pathos in a Sentence

There is a pathos to the deflated certainties that left the Washington lawyer Leonard Garment weeping, inconsolable, outside the Senate chamber as the debate was ended. Garry Wills, New York Times Book Review, 10 Sept. 1989
Many schools at the end of the Depression were poor, but the threadbare nature of Christchurch was almost Dickensian in its pathos. William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (1953) 1982
The struggle back to solvency was arduous, and the stubborn determination and reserves of strength that it called forth from him in his mid-forties made him all at once a figure of considerable pathos and heroism in my eyes, a cross of a kind between Captain Ahab and Willy Loman. Philip Roth, Reading Myself and Others, (1961) 1975
Our knowledge of his tragic end adds an element of pathos to the story of his early success.
Recent Examples on the Web His most recent film, Holy Spider, nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, found fleeting pathos in a fanatical serial killer. EW.com, 3 Oct. 2024 While the play is packed with humorous dialogue, there are also emotional moments of tenderness and pathos. Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024 Plenty of programs classified as comedies (Gilmore Girls and Orange Is the New Black come to mind) are not laugh-a-minute shows but had comedy underlying the moments of pathos. Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 Farrell’s Oz, by contrast, is a cartoon — albeit a loveable one, infused with pathos and verve by the actor and painted with truly impressive makeup by Michael Marino. Christian Holub, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pathos 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pathos.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek páthos "experience, misfortune, emotion, condition," noun derivative of a verbal base path- "experience, undergo, suffer" (present páschō, páschein, aorist épathon), going back to *p(h)nth-, zero ablaut grade of a base seen also in pénthos "grief, sorrow," of uncertain origin

Note: The Greek verb has been compared with Lithuanian kentù, kę͂sti "to undergo, suffer" (assuming that t for d is secondary) and Old Irish césaid "(s/he) suffers, endures" (< *kwendh-s-?), though this would require Indo-European *kwendh-, with a normally unacceptable combination of voiceless stop and voiced aspirated stop in a single root. Alternatively, Greek path-, penth- has been explained as an idiosyncratic semantic development of Indo-European *bhendh- "bind" ("be bound" > "suffer"?) (see bind entry 1).

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pathos was in 1591

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Dictionary Entries Near pathos

Cite this Entry

“Pathos.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathos. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

pathos

noun
: an element in life or in artistic representation of it that moves one to pity
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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