Pa"thos (?), n. [L., from Gr. pa`qos a suffering, passion, fr. &?;, &?;, to suffer; cf. &?; toil, L. pati to suffer, E. patient.]

That quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, esp., that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality; as, the pathos of a picture, of a poem, or of a cry.

The combination of incident, and the pathos of catastrophe.
T. Warton.

 

© Webster 1913


Pa"thos, n.

1.

The quality or character of those emotions, traits, or experiences which are personal, and therefore restricted and evanescent; transitory and idiosyncratic dispositions or feelings as distinguished from those which are universal and deep-seated in character; -- opposed to ethos.

2.

Suffering; the enduring of active stress or affliction.

 

© Webster 1913

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.