Devout, religious, or dutiful, especially showing reverence toward God or family; often self-righteous or sanctimonious.
From Latin 'pius' meaning 'dutiful' or 'devoted,' used in Roman times to describe filial piety and devotion to the gods. The word carries both positive connotations (genuine piety) and negative ones (false piety or self-righteousness).
The word can be a compliment or an insult depending on tone, which reveals something fascinating about how we judge faith—we love genuinely pious people but despise performative virtue, and the word itself captures this tension perfectly.
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