1. Emotion, feeling, or passion: This is the most common meaning. Pathos can refer to any strong emotion, whether it's joy, sorrow, anger, fear, or love.
2. Suffering, affliction, or disease: This meaning is often used in a medical context to describe a particular ailment or condition.
3. Experience, ordeal, or destiny: This meaning emphasizes the impact of events on a person's life.
4. Rhetorical appeal to emotion: In rhetoric, pathos refers to the use of emotional appeals to persuade an audience. This can involve using vivid imagery, storytelling, or personal anecdotes to evoke strong emotions in listeners.
In literature and art, "pathos" is often used to describe the ability of a work to evoke strong emotions in the audience. A work with "pathos" can make us feel joy, sorrow, fear, or any other emotion. This can be achieved through various means, such as the use of vivid imagery, compelling characters, or a moving plot.
Ultimately, the meaning of "pathos" depends on the specific context in which it is used. However, its core meaning is always related to emotions and their impact on human experience.