A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1575-1592
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(Pite-,) Piti(e)full, a. [Late ME. piteful (c 1449), pytefull (Caxton), pittiful (1570), pious (c 1449), compassionate (1491), pitiable (c 1450), also contemptible (1582), f. pity Pité n. Cf. Petefull a.] a. Full of pity. = Petefull a. b. b. Deserving pity; pitiabie. — 1592 Chart. Holy Trin. 176.
Oure said souerane lord for his pitifull zeale, quhilk he hes for the sustentatioun of the hospitallis [etc.] — c1575 Balfour Pract. 154.
Gif ony persoun becumis pure for ane honest, pitiefull or favorabill cause, as gif he be takin prisoner … be piratis [etc.] 1590 Cal. Sc. P. X. 318.
The pitiefull cace of Archibauld [etc.]
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"Pitifull adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Jul 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/pitiefull>
