ˈpāˌthäs also -thȯs or -thōs sometimes ˈpaˌ- or -_thəs noun
( -es )
Etymology: Greek, experience, emotion, passion, suffering, from path-, stem of paschein to experience, suffer; akin to Old Irish cēssaim, cēssim I suffer, Greek penthos grief, sorrow, Latvian cìest to endure, suffer
1.
a. : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion
pathos she has, the nearest to tragedy the comedian can come — W.B.Yeats
b. : an emotion of sympathetic pity
felt a stab of pathos — Rex Ingamells
2. : the transient or accidental factor in an event or experience as distinguished from that based on personal character — compare ethos 2 a (2)