A loanword from Greek, used in literary and rhetorical contexts to refer to an appeal to emotion or a quality that evokes pity or sadness.
I felt a touch of pathos in the film's ending.
His speech had a strong sense of pathos.
This novel carries a distinctive sense of pathos.
His performance was filled with pathos.
エートス (ethos) refers to credibility or character-based persuasion, while ペーソス (pathos) refers to emotional appeal, and the two are often paired as rhetorical contrasts.
Borrowed from Greek 'pathos' (πάθος), meaning suffering or emotion, via English or other European languages.