Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PIT'E-OUS, a. [See Pity.]

1. Sorrowful; mournful; that may excite pity; as, a piteous look.
2. Wretched; miserable; deserving compassion; as, a piteous condition.
3. Compassionate; affected by pity. – Prior. Pope.
4. Pitiful; paltry; poor; as, piteous amends. – Milton.