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Pietà

[ pee-ey-tah, pyey-tah, pee-ey-tuh, pyey- ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)
  1. a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of the dead Christ, usually shown held on her lap.


pietà

/ pɪɛˈtɑː /

noun

  1. a sculpture, painting, or drawing of the dead Christ, supported by the Virgin Mary


Pietà

  1. A painting, drawing, or sculpture of Mary, the mother of Jesus , holding the dead body of Jesus . The word means “pity” in Italian.


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Notes

The most famous of four Pietàs by Michelangelo is a sculpture at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican .

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Pietà1

1635–45; < Italian: literally, pity < Latin pietās piety; pity

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Pietà1

Italian: pity, from Latin pietās piety

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Example Sentences

In celebration of the darkest of Black Fridays, she just released a new single, “Pietà.”

This is an inverse Pietà, and something of a sexual anarchist; she ardently refuses to be oriented in an orientation.

Behind him Luca has carved a Pietà, and beneath two angels unfold the name of the dead man.

The Madonna of the bas-relief is proud rather than tender, the Virgin of the Pietà is grand rather than lovely.

The Italians call the subject the Pietà, which means compassion, but the name scarcely expresses all the emotions of the mother.

Nor did he lack proper appreciation; the Pietà placed him at once on a pinnacle of fame, and the David was heartily admired.

It is an exact counterpart of the "Pietà" in the Orvieto frescoes, except that it is here reversed.

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petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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