According to Merriam-Webster:
PITY
Etymology: Middle English pite, from Anglo-French pité, from Latin pietat, pietas, piety, pity, from pius pious
Date: 13th century
1 a: sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy b: capacity to feel pity
2: something to be regretted
Synonyms PITY, COMPASSION, COMMISERATION, CONDOLENCE, SYMPATHY mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another. PITY implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress. COMPASSION implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare. COMMISERATION suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort. CONDOLENCE applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss. SYMPATHY often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort.
Pity always makes me think of this. Where/how does the "capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another" turn "contemptuous?"
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