piety

/ˈpaɪ̯ɪti/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,198 of 15,258leans written

Piety is deep and sincere religious devotion. Great piety, a life of piety, filial piety.

Filial piety is the Confucian duty of respect to parents and ancestors, and it is a central idea in East Asian thought rather than a religious one. In Western use the word can sound suspicious, since piety on display invites the charge of pretence.

Definitions of piety

1nounpietyDeep and sincere religious devotion.C1
“The old woman was known for her piety and went to church every morning.”

piety is a devotion.

Where it comes from

Latin pietas means dutifulness, from pius, dutiful. Pity is the same word by another road.

Proto-Indo-European
*pewH-
Latin
pietās
Middle French
pieté
Middle English
piete
English, today
piety

From Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets a doublet of pietà and pity. by surface analysis, pious + -ety.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

piety in the wild

A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect.
Piety
In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among countries and cultures.
Piety
In the dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to establish a definition of piety.
Euthyphro
Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics.
Filial piety
Filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of many stories.
Filial piety

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the pietās family

pity

piety — used about once every 5,793 pages · #10,198 · point at the bar for the others

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