pity
part of speech
noun (pity — uncountable; a pity); verb (pity, pities, pitied, pitying)
meaning for a pupil
1) Pity is a feeling of sadness for someone who is suffering or in trouble. tree →
2) «It's a pity» or «what a pity» means it is sad or a shame that something happened. tree →
3) To pity someone means to feel sorry for them. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It is used in the laws of punishment and of idol-worship, where pity must not stop justice. Interpretation: The rabbis explain that this does not mean cruelty: for money damages "eye for eye" means payment, and judges must not twist the law out of sympathy. In the primary lessons: In stories pity shows a character's kind heart, or sometimes that they look down on someone. In everyday life people say «What a pity!» when a plan fails, a trip is cancelled or rain spoils a game. Phrases: feel pity for, take pity on (help someone because you feel sorry for them), it's a pity that, what a pity, out of pity.
examples
- then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity. (Torah DEU.25.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Torah DEU.19.21, JPS 1917) tree →
- thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him; (Torah DEU.13.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? (Prophets JER.15.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- Then was the LORD jealous for His land, and had pity on His people. (Prophets JOL.2.18, JPS 1917) tree →
- and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.' (Prophets 2SA.12.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- I felt pity for the lost puppy in the rain. tree →
- It's a pity you can't come to my party. tree →
- What a pity the match was cancelled! tree →
- The giant took pity on the hungry boy and gave him bread. tree →
- She doesn't want pity; she wants help. tree →
- I pity anyone who has to walk home in this storm. tree →
- It would be a pity to waste all this food. tree →
- That would have been a pity. tree →
note
Mostly uncountable as a feeling: «full of pity», not «pities». But «a pity» = a shame: «It's a pity». Past of the verb: pitied (y changes to i). Pity is not the same as kindness: some people dislike pity because it can feel like being looked down on; «sympathy» or «compassion» sound warmer. «Pitiful» means very sad or very poor.
In the corpora
- then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.
- and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.'
- For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?
- But I had pity for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they came.
- Then was the LORD jealous for His land, and had pity on His people.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pity» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.