piety
pi·e·ty/ˈpaɪ̯ɪti/noun
piety is spelled P-I-E-T-Y: 5 letters and 3 syllables (pi·e·ty). It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, piety means “Reverence and devotion to God” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of piety is pieties.
How many letters and syllables are in piety?
| Letters | 5: P-I-E-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pi·e·ty |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is piety?
Piety appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce piety?
- /ˈpaɪ̯ɪti/
- [ˈpʰaɪ̯ɪtʰɪi̯]
- /ˈpaɪ̯ɪɾi/
Piety has 3 syllables, split pi·e·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-piety.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of piety
- pieties plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does piety mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Reverence and devotion to God.
Colleen's piety led her to make sacrifices that most people would not have made.
- 2
Similar reverence to one's parents and family or to one's country.
patriotism as piety, when done right
- 3
A devout or otherwise laudable act, thought, or statement.
- 4
A platitude that may be empty or at least facile and undercommitted.
He was quick with the pieties about hard work, honest communication, active listening, and respecting others' viewpoints, but walking the walk is different from talking the talk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Piety in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | piété |
| German | Frömmigkeit , Pietät |
| Portuguese | piedade |
| Spanish | piedad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does piety come from?
From Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and pity. By surface analysis, pious + -ety.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).