Pitiful

wiktionary

ref

From Middle English pityful, piteful, piteeful, equivalent to pity +‎ -ful.

etymonline

ref

pitiful (adj.)

mid-14c., piteful, "merciful, compassionate" (implied in pitifully), from pity (n.) + -ful. Sense of "exciting or deserving pity" is from mid-15c.; that of "mean, wretched, contemptible, to be pitied for its littleness or meanness" is attested from 1580s. Related: Pitifulness.