piety

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpaɪ.ɪ.ti/ See IPA manual

Freq #24903

Meanings

1

noun
Deep respect for God and a strong commitment to religion.

Her piety was clear from the hours she spent in prayer each day.
2

noun
Strong respect and devotion towards one's parents, family, or country.

In many cultures, piety towards one's elders is highly valued.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · deep respect for god and a... piousness

Word family

Forms pieties

Derived forms pietismpietistunpiety

Related forms pious

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

filial piety
respect, care, and a sense of duty toward parents and ancestors, especially in Confucian traditions

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Piety came through French from Latin pietas, the noun related to pius. Latin pius covered moral qualities including dutifulness toward parents, loyalty, affection, compassion, and kindness. In Middle English, pietas produced both piety and pity, which were originally used in the same sense.

Etymology

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

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

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# piety

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpaɪ.ɪ.ti/
**Frequency rank:** 24903

## Meanings
1. Deep respect for God and a strong commitment to religion.
2. Strong respect and devotion towards one's parents, family, or country.

## Examples
- Her piety was clear from the hours she spent in prayer each day.
- In many cultures, piety towards one's elders is highly valued.

## Derived Forms
- pietism
- pietist
- unpiety

## Related Forms
- pious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pewH-
- Root: piete
- Root: pieté
- Root: pietās

## Etymology
From Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and pity. By surface analysis, pious + -ety.

## AI Etymology
Piety comes from Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and pity. By surface analysis, pious + -ety. The historical chain includes *pewH- (Proto-Indo-European), piete (Middle English), pieté (Middle French), pietās (Latin). In present-day English it covers deep respect for God and a strong commitment to religion and strong respect and devotion towards one's parents, family, or country. The wider family includes derived forms such as pietism, pietist, unpiety and related forms such as pious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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