Pity Me

Pity Me

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Pity Me
latitude= 54.801
longitude= -1.587
civil_parish=
population =
shire_district= City of Durham
shire_county= County Durham
region= North East England
constituency_westminster= City of Durham
post_town= DURHAM
postcode_district= DH1
postcode_area= DH
dial_code= 0191
os_grid_reference= NZ265452

Pity Me is a village in County Durham in England, although other instances of the name can be found in Hexhamshire and near Morpeth. Pity Me is located north of Framwellgate Moor and west of Newton Hall, and is the home of the Arnison Centre, one of Durham's retail parks.

Locals claim the term arose because monks sang the 51st Psalm during their flight from a Viking invasion. The Latin words of the psalm are "Miserere mei, Deus", meaning "Pity me, O God" in English. For its part, the "Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names" speculates that it may simply be "a whimsical name bestowed in the 19th century on a place considered desolate, exposed or difficult to cultivate". However, it probably refers to a Pithead Mere, an extended area of boggy waste ground, onto which the outwash from minehead pumping engines was discharged. An alternative theory suggests, as with some local place names in County Durham, the name derives from Norman-French for 'A Small Lake'. [cite web | url = http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/DurhamCityVillages.htm | title = Villages around Durham City| accessdate = 2008-05-04]

Transport

Pity Me is bypassed by the A167 which connects to Darlington and Newcastle via Chester-le-Street. This, like many roads in the area, is the former route of the A1 through the region.

ee also

Other unusual place names in the North East include the village of No Place, believed to be a contraction of North Place, as marked on the original Ordnance Survey maps, and Bearpark, from Beaurepaire, French for "beautiful retreat" - the name of a nearby Norman manor house.

References

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  • Pity — implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress. By the nineteenth century, two different kinds of pity had come to be distinguished, which we might call benevolent pity and contemptuous pity (see Kimball).… …   Wikipedia

  • pity — [pit′ē] n. pl. pities [ME pite < OFr pitet < L pietas: see PIETY] 1. sorrow felt for another s suffering or misfortune; compassion; sympathy 2. the ability to feel such compassion 3. a cause for sorrow or regret vt., vi. pitied, pitying [ …   English World dictionary

  • Pity — Pit y, n.; pl. {Pities}. [OE. pite, OF. pit[ e], piti[ e], F. piti[ e], L. pietas piety, kindness, pity. See {Pious}, and cf. {Piety}.] 1. Piety. [Obs.] Wyclif. [1913 Webster] 2. A feeling for the sufferings or distresses of another or others;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pity — ► NOUN (pl. pities) 1) a feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the sufferings of others. 2) a cause for regret or disappointment. ► VERB (pities, pitied) ▪ feel pity for. ● for pity s sake …   English terms dictionary

  • pity — (n.) early 13c., from O.Fr. pite, pitet (11c., Mod.Fr. pitié), from L. pietatem (nom. pietas) piety, affection, duty, in L.L. gentleness, kindness, pity, from pius (see PIOUS (Cf. pious)). Replaced O.E. mildheortness, lit. mild heartness, itself… …   Etymology dictionary

  • pity — [n1] feeling of mercy toward another benevolence, charity, clemency, comfort, commiseration, compassion, compunction, condolement, condolence, dejection, distress, empathy, favor, forbearance, goodness, grace, humanity, kindliness, kindness,… …   New thesaurus

  • Pity — Pit y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pitied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Pitying}.] 1. To feel pity or compassion for; to have sympathy with; to compassionate; to commiserate; to have tender feelings toward (any one), awakened by a knowledge of suffering. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pity — Pit y, v. i. To be compassionate; to show pity. [1913 Webster] I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy. Jer. xiii. 14. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pity — pity·ing; pity; pity·ing·ly; …   English syllables

  • pity — The type Pity we can t get this to work is an acceptable conversational shortening of It is a pity that… …   Modern English usage

  • Pity — (Pitje), holländische Benennung der japanischen u. chinesischen Scheidemünze, deren man sonst auf Java 50 auf den Stüber rechnete …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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