Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Pious — Pi ous, a. [L. pius: cf. F. pieux.] 1. Of or pertaining to piety; exhibiting piety; reverential; dutiful; religious; devout; godly. Pious hearts. Milton. Pious poetry. Johnson. [1913 Webster] Where was the martial brother s pious care? Pope.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pious — [pī′əs] adj. [L pius, pious, devout, affectionate, good, prob. < IE * pwīyos < base * peu , to clean > L purus,PURE] 1. having or showing religious devotion; zealous in the performance of religious obligations 2. springing from actual or … English World dictionary
pious — index tartuffish, zealous Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
pious — (adj.) c.1600, from L. pius dutiful, kind, devout, perhaps related to L. purus pure, clean (see PURE (Cf. pure)). Related: Piously; piousness … Etymology dictionary
pious — *devout, religious, pietistic, sanctimonious Analogous words: *holy, sacred, divine, religious: worshiping, adoring, reverencing, venerating, revering (see REVERE): fervent, ardent, fervid (see IMPASSIONED) Antonyms: impious … New Dictionary of Synonyms
pious — [adj] dedicated, religious born again*, clerical, devoted, devout, divine, ecclesiastical, godly, goody goody*, orthodox, prayerful, priestly, reverent, righteous, sacred, saintly, sanctimonious, spiritual; concept 401 Ant. atheist, impious,… … New thesaurus
pious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) devoutly religious. 2) making a hypocritical display of virtue. 3) (of a hope) sincere but unlikely to be fulfilled. DERIVATIVES piously adverb piousness noun. ORIGIN Latin pius dutiful … English terms dictionary
pious — [[t]pa͟ɪ͟əs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Someone who is pious is very religious and moral. He was brought up by pious female relatives. ...pious acts of charity. Syn: devout Derived words: piously ADV GRADED ADV with v Conti kneeled and crossed himself… … English dictionary
pious — pi|ous [ˈpaıəs] adj [Date: 1400 1500; : Latin; Origin: pius] 1.) having strong religious beliefs, and showing this in the way you behave →↑piety ▪ He was a quiet, pious man. 2.) if you describe what someone says as pious talk, words etc, you mean … Dictionary of contemporary English
pious — adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin pius Date: 15th century 1. a. marked by or showing reverence for deity and devotion to divine worship b. marked by conspicuous religiosity < a hypocrite a thing all pious words and uncharitable… … New Collegiate Dictionary
pious — adjective 1) a pious family Syn: religious, devout, God fearing, churchgoing, spiritual, prayerful, holy, godly, saintly, dedicated, reverent, dutiful, righteous Ant: irreligious … Thesaurus of popular words
