- pious
- c.1600, from L. pius "dutiful, kind, devout," perhaps related to L. purus "pure, clean" (see pure). Related: Piously; piousness.
- Hasidim
- 1812, adherents of a conservative Jewish religious movement founded 1750 by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer Baal Shem Tobh, from Heb. hasidhim, lit. "pious ones," pl. of hasidh "kind, pious." Earlier used in Heb. of adherents of an anti-Hellenistic faction during the time of the Maccabean Wars.
- pittance
- early 13c., "pious donation to a religious house or order to provide extra food," from O.Fr. pitance "portion of food allowed a monk or poor person by a pious bequest," lit. "pity," from pitié (see pity). Meaning "small amount, portion" first recorded 1560s.
- Pallas
- Gk. goddess' name, lit. "little maiden," related to pallake "concubine," and probably somehow connected to Avestan pairika "beautiful women seducing pious men."
- good will
- O.E. godes willan “virtuous, pious, upright,” also “state of wishing well to another.” One-word form goodwill (18c.) is used especially in the commercial sense.
- Philemon
- masc. proper name, in Gk. mythology, a pious man, husband of Baucis, from Gk. philemon, lit. "loving, affectionate," from philein "to love."
- Essene
- 1550s, member of a Jewish sect (first recorded 2c. B.C.E.), from L., from Gk. Essenoi, of disputed etymology, perhaps from Heb. tzenum "the modest ones," or Heb. hashaim "the silent ones." Klein suggests Syriac hasen, pl. absolute state of hase "pious."
- devout
- early 13c., from O.Fr. devot "pious, devoted, assiduous," from L. devotus "given up by vow, devoted," pp. of devovere "dedicate by vow" (see devotion).
- fraud
- "criminal deception," mid-14c., from O.Fr. fraude, from L. fraudem (nom. fraus) "deceit, injury." The noun meaning "impostor, humbug" is attested from 1850. Pious fraud "deception practiced for the sake of what is deemed a good purpose" is from 1560s.
- impious
- 1590s, from L. impius “without reverence,” from im- “not” + pius (see pious).
- piety
- late 12c., from O.Fr. piete (12c.), from L. pietatem (nom. pietas) "dutiful conduct, kindness, piety," from pius "kind" (see pious).
- deodand
- 1520s, from Anglo-Fr. deodande (late 13c.), from M.L. deodandum, from Deo dandum "a thing to be given to God," from dative of deus "god" (see Zeus) + neut. gerundive of dare "to give" (see date (1)). In English law, "a personal chattel which, having been the immediate cause of the death of a person, was forfeited to the Crown to be applied to pious uses." Abolished 1846.
- Uncle Tom
- "servile black man," 1922, somewhat inaccurately in ref. to the humble, pious, but strong-willed main character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852). The image implied in the insult perhaps is more traceable to the late 19c. minstel show versions of the story, which reached a far wider audience than the book.
I don't recall anyone in the 1920s using the term 'Uncle Tom' as an epithet. But what's amazing is how fast it caught on (in the 1930s). Black scholars picked up (the term) and just started throwing it at each other. [Ernest Allen, quoted in Hamilton, Kendra, "The Strange Career of Uncle Tom," Black Issues in Higher Education, June 2002]
As a verb, attested from 1937. - confessor
- late O.E., "one who avows his religion," especially in the face of danger, but does not suffer martyrdom, from L. confessor, agent noun from confiteri (see confess). Meaning "one who hears confessions" is from mid-14c.; this properly would be L. confessarius, but L. confessor was being used in this sense from the 9th century. Edward the Confessor (c.1003-1066, canonized 1161), last Anglo-Saxon king, was pious enough but does not seem to fit his title; perhaps so called to distinguish him from another Anglo-Saxon saint/king, Edward the Martyr, who does fit his.
- pity (n.)
- early 13c., from O.Fr. pite, pitet (11c., Mod.Fr. pitié), from L. pietatem (nom. pietas) "piety, affection, duty," in L.L. "gentleness, kindness, pity," from pius (see pious). Replaced O.E. mildheortness, lit. "mild-heartness," itself a loan-translation of L. misericordia. English pity and piety were not fully distinguished until 17c. The verb meaning "to feel pity for" is attested from 1520s. Related: Pitied; pitying.
- pontifex
- member of the supreme college of priests in ancient Rome, 1579, from L. pontifex, probably from pont-, stem of pons "bridge" + -fex, -ficis, root of facere "make." If so, the word originally meant "bridge-maker," or "path-maker." Weekley points out that, "bridge-building has always been regarded as a pious work of divine inspiration." Or the term may be metaphoric of bridging the earthly world and the realm of the gods. Other suggestions trace it to Oscan-Umbrian puntis "propitiary offering," or to a lost Etruscan word, in either case altered by folk-etymology to resemble the L. for "bridge-maker."
- starvation
- 1778, noun of action from starve. Famously introduced in English by Henry Dundas during debate in the House of Commons in 1775 on American affairs. It earned him the nickname "Starvation Dundas," though sources disagree on whether this was given in objection to the harshness of his suggestion of starving the rebels into submission or in derision at the barbarous formation. It is one of the earliest instances of -ation used with a native Germanic word.
As to Lord Chatham, the victories, conquests, extension of our empire within these last five years, will annihilate his fame of course, and he may be replaced by Starvation Dundas, whose pious policy suggested that the devil of rebellion could be expelled only by fasting, though that never drove him out of Scotland. [Horace Walpole, letter to the Rev. William Mason, April 25, 1781]
- silly
- O.E. gesælig "happy" (related to sæl "happiness"), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll "happy," Goth. sels "good, kindhearted," O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig "blessed, happy, blissful"), from PIE base *sel- "happy" (cf. Gk. hilaros "gay, cheerful," L. solari "to comfort," salvus "whole, safe"). The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (c.1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (late 13c.), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1570s). Further tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories). Silly Putty trademark claims use from July 1949.
- Veronica
- fem. proper name, a variant of Gk. Berenike (see Berenice). The popular "Saint Veronica" (not in the Roman Martyrology) traditionally was a pious woman who wiped the face of Christ when he fell carrying the cross to Calvary. The image of his face remained on the cloth, and the "veil of Veronica" has been preserved in Rome from the 8c. Her popularity rose with the propagation of the Stations of the Cross. Some also identified her with the woman with the issue of blood, cured by Christ, as in the East this woman was identified from an early date by the name Berenike.
In sum, it seems likely that the story of Veronica is a delightful legend without any solid historical basis; that Veronica is a purely fictitious, not a historical character, and that the story was invented to explain the relic. It aroused great interest in the later Middle Ages in the general devotional context of increased concern with the humanity of Christ, especially the Holy Face, and the physical elements of his Passion. [David Hugh Farmer, "The Oxford Dictionary of Saints," 1978]
Hence vernicle (mid-14c.) "picture of the face of Christ," from O.Fr. veronicle, variant of veronique.