The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pathetic \Pa*thet"ic\ (p[.a]*th[e^]t"[i^]k), a. [L. patheticus,
Gr. paqhtiko`s, fr. paqei^n, pa`schein, to suffer: cf. F.
path['e]tique. See Pathos.]
1. Expressing or showing anger; passionate. [Obs.]
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2. Affecting or moving the tender emotions, esp. pity or
grief; full of pathos; as, a pathetic song or story.
"Pathetic action." --Macaulay.
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No theory of the passions can teach a man to be
pathetic. --E. Porter.
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Pathetic muscle (Anat.), the superior oblique muscle of the
eye.
Pathetic nerve (Anat.), the fourth cranial, or trochlear,
nerve, which supplies the superior oblique, or pathetic,
muscle of the eye.
The pathetic, a style or manner adapted to arouse the
tender emotions.
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