English Explanatory Dictionary

pith

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.
  2. The albedo (“whitish inner portion of the rind”) of a citrus fruit.
  3. Senses relating to humans and animals.
  4. The soft tissue inside a human or animal body or one of their organs; specifically, the spongy interior substance of a horn or the shaft of a feather.
  5. Chiefly of animals: the soft tissue inside a spinal cord; the spinal marrow; also, the spinal cord itself.
  6. Synonym of diploe (“the thin layer of soft, spongy, or cancellate tissue between the bone plates which constitute the skull”).
  7. The soft tissue of the brain.
  8. The soft inner portion of a loaf of bread.
  9. The central or innermost part of something; the core, the heart.
  10. The essential or vital part of something; the essence.
  11. Physical power or strength; force, might.
  12. A quality of courage and endurance; backbone, mettle, spine.
verb
  1. To render insensate or kill (an animal, especially cattle or a laboratory animal) by cutting, piercing, or otherwise destroying the spinal cord.
  2. To extract the pith from (something or (figurative) someone).
adj
  1. The ordinal form of the number pi (π; approximately 3.14159…).
noun
  1. One divided by pi, that is, 1/π (approximately 0.31831…).

Pronunciation

/pɪθ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-pith.wav /paɪθ/

Word forms

pith piths pithing pithed pi-th

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pith, pithe (“soft interior; pith, pulp”) [and other forms], from Old English piþa [and other forms], from Proto-Germanic *piþô, from earlier *piþō (oblique *pittan); further etymology unknown. Doublet of pit (“seed or stone inside a fruit”). The verb Middle English pethen (“to give courage or strength”), derived from the noun pith (noun), did not survive into modern English. Cognates * Dutch peen (“carrot”) * Middle Low German peddek, peddik, piddek (“bone marrow; medulla; spinal cord; inner part of a horn or quill; (figurative) core, essence”) (the last spelling rare) (Low German Peddik (“core; pulp”)) * West Frisian piid (“pulp, kernel”)

Synonyms

marrow medulla diploe kernel crux gist heart heart and soul inwardness meat nitty-gritty nub quintessence soul spirit substance bowels sum brass tacks core essence drift guts gravamen heartstring heartstrings moral of the story nuts and bolts pith punctum saliens stuff tenor

Derived words

pith and marrow pith and substance pithball pith fleck pithful pith helmet pithless pithlike pith paper pithy
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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