- pitiful (adj.)
[pitiful 词源字典]
- c. 1300, "merciful, compassionate" (implied in pitifully), from pity + -ful. Sense of "exciting or deserving pity" is from mid-15c.; that of "mean, wretched, contemptible" is 1580s. Related: Pitifulness.[pitiful etymology, pitiful origin, 英语词源]