Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pietà

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.82 in modern English

Syllables: pieta
IPA

6

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sculpture or painting of the Virgin Mary holding and mourning the dead body of Jesus.

Example Sentences

"Two ladies were already in the cloister chapel, with a gentleman. As Kitty and her friend entered, these persons had just finished their inspection of the damaged but most beautiful "Pietà" which hangs over the altar, and their faces were towards the entrance."
"Whereas Beuys's early sculptural work was consciously formed within a modernized version of the stylized Romanesque tradition of art, frequently with a Christian content such as crucifixions or pietàs, he gradually was able to free himself from this more traditional approach."
"Ceremonial masks, Hindu deities, and pietàs shine down on you."
"It does not show the events it depicts as static, frozen in the eternal present of historia sacra in the way many late medieval crucifixions, pietàs or annunciations do, but as a narrative."

Etymology

From Italian pietà. Doublet of piety, and pity.

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: pietà

Inflected Forms

pietàs (plural) pieta (alternative)

Questions

What does pietà mean?: A sculpture or painting of the Virgin Mary holding and mourning the dead body of Jesus.
Where does pietà come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce pietà

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