Compassion
Etymology
From Latin "compati," “to suffer with,” from "com-" (with) + "pati" (to suffer, endure) — the same "pati" behind "patient" and "passion." Compassion is literally suffering alongside; but usage adds the active reach outward, the impulse to do something about the pain you share.
noun · /kum-PASH-un/
Sympathy for another’s suffering combined with the desire to relieve it.
What it names
Reach for it when feeling shades into a will to help — the caring that moves toward action, not just resonance.
Example
The nurse treated even the most difficult patients with a steady, practical compassion.
Related idea
Against pity: both respond to suffering, but pity looks down from a safe height (“poor thing”), while compassion meets the sufferer as an equal and leans in to help. In Buddhist thought, compassion (karuṇā) is a trainable strength, not a passing softness — which is why we can speak of “self-compassion.”