Origin and history of compassion

c. 1200, "the sufferings of Christ on the Cross; the death of Christ," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past-participle stem of Latin pati "to endure, undergo, experience," a word of uncertain origin. The notion is "that which must be endured."

The Latinate word replaced Old English þolung (which had been used in glosses to render Latin passio), literally "suffering," from þolian (v.) "to endure" (see thole (v.)).

The sense in English was extended by early 13c. to the sufferings of martyrs and suffering and pain generally.

In Middle English passion also sometimes was "the state of being affected or acted upon by something external" (late 14c., compare passive). It also could mean "an ailment, disease, affliction;" also "an emotion, desire, inclination, feeling; desire to sin considered as an affliction" (mid-13c.).

The specific meaning "intense or vehement emotion or desire" is attested from late 14c., from a Late Latin use of passio to render Greek pathos "suffering," also "feeling, emotion."

The specific sense of "sexual love" is attested by 1580s, but the word has been used as well of any lasting, controlling emotion (zeal; grief, sorrow; rage, anger; hope, joy). The meaning "strong liking, enthusiasm, predilection" is from 1630s; that of "object of great admiration or desire" is by 1732.

As compared with affection, the distinctive mark of passion is that it masters the mind, so that the person becomes seemingly its subject or its passive instrument, while an affection, though moving, affecting, or influencing one, still leaves him his self-control. The secondary meanings of the two words keep this difference. [Century Dictionary]

A passion-play (1843, in a German context) represents the scenes in the Passion of Christ. The passion-flower was so called from the 1630s.

The name passionflower — flos passionis — arose from the supposed resemblance of the corona to the crown of thorns, and of the other parts of the flower to the nails, or wounds, while the five sepals and five petals were taken to symbolize the ten apostles — Peter ... and Judas ... being left out of the reckoning. [ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1885]

1580s (1570s in Latin form), "affinity between certain things" (body and soul, persons and their garments), from French sympathie (16c.) and directly from Late Latin sympathia "community of feeling, sympathy," from Greek sympatheia "fellow-feeling, community of feeling," from sympathēs "having a fellow feeling, affected by like feelings," from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + pathos "feeling," which is related to paskhein, pathein "suffer" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer").

In Middle English in reference to an occult-like, almost magical influencing of one mind or body by another, especially in physiology and pathology: It was used in reference to medicines that heal wounds when applied to a cloth stained with blood from the wound.

The meaning "conformity of feelings, agreement of affections or inclinations" is from 1590s; weakened sense of "favorable attitude of mind toward" is by 1823. The meaning "quality of commiserating with the sufferings of another" is from c. 1600; that of "a feeling identical with or resembling that which another feels" is from 1660s.

An Old English loan-translation of sympathia was efensargung (even, that is "likewise," sorrying) and compare German Mitgefühl. Sympathy card is attested by 1916, earlier deepest sympathy card is by 1914.