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pith

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 9 October 2023

Etymology 1

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Across sectionthrough ashootofelderberry(Sambucus nigra) showing thewhitishpith(nounsense 1.1)in thecentre.
Amagnifiedcross section through thestalkof aflaxplant(Linum usitatissimum) showing its pith(nounsense 1.1;number 1).
Theinnerportionof anorange peelshowing its white pith(nounsense 1.2)oralbedo.

Thenounis derived fromMiddle Englishpith,pithe(“central tissue of a plant’s stem or a tree’s trunk and branches; other spongy inner tissue in a plant; flesh of a fruit, pulp; inner tissue in a body; inner part of an object; essential part, essence, quintessence; importance, value; energy, force, strength, vigour; severity”)[and other forms],[1]fromOld Englishpiþa[and other forms],fromProto-Germanic*piþô,from earlier*piþō(oblique*pittan); further etymology unknown.[2]Doubletofpit(“seed or stone inside a fruit”).

Theverbis derived from the noun[3](Middle Englishpethen(“to give courage or strength”),frompith(noun),[4]did not survive into modern English).

cognates

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pith(usuallyuncountable,pluralpiths)

  1. (botany)
    2. Thesoft,spongysubstanceinsideplantparts;specifically, theparenchymain thecentreof therootsandstemsof many plants andtrees.
      Synonyms:(archaic)marrow,medulla
      • 1597,John Gerarde [i.e.,John Gerard], “Of Aromaticall Reedes”, inThe Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes.[…],London:[…]Edm[und]Bollifant, forBonham and Iohn Norton,→OCLC,book I,page56:
        This ſvveete ſmelling Reede is of a darke dun colour, full of ioints and knees eaſie to be broken into ſmall ſplinters, hollovv and full of a certaine vvhitepith,cobvveb vviſe, ſomevvhat gummie in eating, and hanging in the teeth, and of a ſharpe bitter taſte.
      • 1601,C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e.,Pliny the Elder], “[Book XIV.]Foureteene Sorts of Sweet Wines.”, inPhilemon Holland,transl.,The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus.[…],1st tome, London:[…]Adam Islip,→OCLC,page417:
        Some make inciſion into the very Vine braunch, as farre as to thepithand marrovv vvithin (to divert the moiſture that feedeth the grape:) others lay the cluſters a drying upon tile-houſes: and all this is done vvith the grapes of the Vine Helvenaca.
      • 1634,T[homas] H[erbert],“Mohelia, Its Description”, inA Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia,[…],London:[…]William Stansby,and Jacob Bloome,→OCLC,page24:
        Atop the [Palmito] tree is apith,in taſte better then Cabbage; and eating it takes avvay the future benefit of grovvth or fructifying, theſe and the Date-tree thriue not, except the male and female be vnited, and haue copulation: the ſhe is only fruitfull.
      • 1671December 17 (Gregorian calendar),Nehemiah Grew,“The Anatomy of Plants, Begun.[…]The First Book.[…]Chapter III. Of the Trunk.”, inThe Anatomy of Plants.[…],2nd edition,[London]:[…]W. Rawlins, for the author, published1682,→OCLC,page25:
        VVhy are the AnnualGrovvthsof all bothHerbsandTrees,vvith greatPiths,the quickeſt and longeſt? But hovv are thePoresandBladdersof thePithpermeable? That they are ſo, both from their being capable of a repletion vvithSap,and of being again vvholly emptied of it, and again, inſtead thereof fill'd vvithAer,is as certain as that they arePores.
      • 1711May 30 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SATURDAY, May 19, 1711”, inThe Spectator,number69;republished inAlexander Chalmers,editor,The Spectator; a New Edition,[…],volume I, New York, N.Y.:D[aniel] Appleton & Company,1853,→OCLC,page278:
        The food often grows in one country, and the sauce in another. The fruits of Portugal are corrected by the products of Barbadoes, and the infusion of a China plant is sweetened by thepithof an Indian cane.
        The spelling has been modernized.
    4. Thealbedo(“whitishinnerportionof therind”)of acitrusfruit.
  2. (by extension)
    1. Senses relating tohumansandanimals.
      1. The softtissueinside ahumanor animalbodyor one of theirorgans;specifically, the spongyinteriorsubstance of ahornor theshaftof afeather.
        (feather):Synonym:medulla
      2. Chiefly of animals:the soft tissue inside aspinal cord;thespinal marrow;also, the spinal cord itself.
        Synonym:medulla
        • 1607,Conradus Gesnerus [i.e.,Conrad Gessner],Edward Topsell,“Of the Horsse.[Of the Mourning of the Chine.]”,inThe Historie of Foure-footed Beastes.[…],London:[…]William Iaggard,→OCLC,page371:
          Becauſe many do hold this opinion that this diſeaſe doth conſume the marrovv of the backe:[…][s]ome againe, do tvvine out thepithof the backe vvith a long vvire thruſt vp into the horſſes head, and ſo into his necke and backe, vvith vvhat reaſon I knovv not.
      3. (obsolete)Synonym ofdiploe(“thethinlayerof soft, spongy, orcancellatetissue between theboneplateswhichconstitutetheskull”)
      4. (obsolete,rare)The soft tissue of thebrain.
        • 1653,Henry More, “Of the Nature of the Soul of Man, whether She be a Meere Modification of the Body, or a Substance Really Distinct, and then whether Corporeall or Incorporeall”, inAn Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God,London:[…]Roger Daniel,[…],→OCLC,book I,page37:
          Verily if vvee take a right vievv of this laxepithor marrovv in Mans head, neither our ſenſe nor underſtanding can diſcover any thing more in this ſubſtance that can pretend to ſuch noble operations as free Imagination and ſagacious collections of Reaſon, then vve can diſcern in a Cake ofSevvetor a bovvle of Curds.
    2. (Ireland,Southern England,West Country)The soft inner portion of aloafofbread.
  3. (figurative)
    1. Thecentralorinnermostpart of something; thecore,theheart.
      Synonyms:kernel,marrow
    2. Theessentialorvitalpart of something; theessence.
      Synonyms:crux,gist,heart,heart and soul,inwardness,kernel,marrow,meat,(obsolete)medulla,nitty-gritty,nub,quintessence,soul,spirit,substance;see alsoThesaurus:gist
      Thepithof my idea is that people should choose their own work hours.
    3. Physicalpowerorstrength;force,might.
      • 1544(date written; published1571),Roger Ascham,Toxophilus, the Schole, or Partitions, of Shooting.[…],London:[…]Thomas Marshe,→OCLC;republished inThe English Works of Roger Ascham,[…],London:[…]R[obert]andJ[ames]Dodsley,[…],andJ[ohn]Newbery,[…],1761,→OCLC,book 2,page132:
        Iron bovves, and ſtele bovves, have bene of longe time, and alſo novv are uſed among theTurkes,but yet they muſt nedes be unprofitable. For if braſſe, iron, or ſtele, have their ovvne ſtrengthe andpithein them, they be farrre[sic]above mans ſtrengthe: if they be made meete for mans ſtrengthe, theyrpitheis nothinge vvorth to ſhoote any ſhoote vvithall.
      • [1786,Robert Burns,“The Auld Farmer’s New-year Morning Salutation to His Auld Mare, Maggie, on Giving Her the Accustomed Ripp of Corn to Hansel in the New-year”, inPoems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect.[…],2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh:[…]T[homas]Cadell,[…],andWilliam Creech,[…],published1793,→OCLC,page199:
        But thy auld tail thou vvad hae vvhiſkit, / An' ſpread abreed thy vveel-fill'd briſket, / VVi'pithan' povv'r,[…]]
    4. Aqualityofcourageandendurance;backbone,mettle,spine.
    5. Theenergy,force, or power ofspeechorwriting;specifically, such force or power due toconciseness;punch,punchiness.
      • 1549February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as1548),Erasmus,“The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon theGhospell of S. Luke.The Preface of Erasmus vnto His Paraphrase vpon theGhospell of Luke.Unto the Moostle Puissaunt and Most Victorious PrinceHenry the Eight,King of England, Fraunce, and Ireland,[…].”,in Nicolas Udall [i.e.,Nicholas Udall], transl.,The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente,London:[…]Edwarde Whitchurche,→OCLC,folio xii, verso:
        I founde in myne owneſelfe, that litle fruite there commeth of the goſpell, if a man reade it but ſluggiſhely, and ſuperficially renne it ouer. But in caſe a mã [man] do with diligent and exquiſite meditacion kepe hymſelf occupied therin, he ſhal fele a certaine vertue andpithſuche as he ſhall not fele the lyke in any other bookes.
    6. Chiefly inof(great)pith andmoment:gravity,importance,substance,weight.
      • 1521–1522,John Skelton,“Here after Followeth a Litel Boke Called Colyn Cloute,[…]”,inAlexander Dyce,editor,The Poetical Works of John Skelton:[…],volume I, London:Thomas Rodd,[…],published1843,→OCLC,page313,lines53–58:
        For though my ryme be ragged, / Tattered and iagged, / Rudely rayne beaten, / Rusty and moughte eaten, / If ye take well therwith, / It hath in it somepyth.
      • c.1599–1602(date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene i],page265,column 2, line88:
        Thus Conſcience does make Covvards of vs all, / And thus the Natiue hevv of Reſolution / Is ſicklied o're, vvith the pale caſt of Thought, / And enterprizes of greatpithand moment, / VVith this regard their Currants turne avvay, / And looſe the name of Action.
Derived terms
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Translations
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soft tissue inside a human or animal body or one of their organs

Verb

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pith(third-person singular simple presentpiths,present participlepithing,simple past and past participlepithed)(transitive)

  1. Torenderinsensateorkill(ananimal,especiallycattleor alaboratoryanimal) bycutting,piercing,or otherwisedestroyingthespinal cord.[from early 19th c.]
  2. Toextractthepithfrom (something or(figurative)someone).
Translations
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Etymology 2

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Frompi(“constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a Euclidean circle to its diameter”)+‎-th(suffixforming ordinal numerals).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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pith(notcomparable)

  1. (mathematics)Theordinalformof thenumberpi(π;approximately 3.14159…).
    Thepithroot of pi is approximately 1.439…
    • 1998June 21, Hbr…@my-dejanews, “For what x is x^x real?”, inalt.algebra.help‎[1](Usenet), message-ID <[email protected] >:
      (e^pi*i*i/2), or e^(-pi/2), which is the reciprocal of the square root of e to thepithpower.
    • 2000August 9, alice, “IMEI Changer T-10”, inaus ms.mobile‎[2](Usenet), message-ID <B5B6F806.53B5%alice@alice-didit >:
      That's nothing. I have an IMEI changer that will do all of the above and beat you off at the same time, while whistling the adaggio from Spartacus in Armenian and calculating pi to thepithpower in swahili.
    • 2017March 5, abu.ku…@gmail, “The non existence of p’th root of any prime number, for (p>2) prime”, insci.math‎[3](Usenet), message-ID <cabe6746-8a13-44f0-9e95-30eec727654a@googlegroups >:
      already, we know what is minus one from Euler: it is the I*pithpower of e, such that ln(-1) = i*pi
Translations
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Noun

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pith(pluralpiths)

  1. (mathematics)Onedividedbypi,that is,(approximately 0.31831…).
    • 1997April 26, Brian Hutchings, “Trigonometric Functions”, insci.math‎[4](Usenet),message-ID <[email protected]>:
      not only that, but your "radian" axis can be labelled as *being* in units of pis, as opposed to the redundancy of 0pi, pi/2, pi etc.; conversely, your circumferential measure can be rational (or units) and your radius can be transcendental (orpiths.-)
    • 2016April 2, abu.ku…@gmail, “pi^2/6 and 6/pi^2”,insci.math‎[5](Usenet), message-ID <d1d13d13-c4c0-43c3-b4cb-7911dcb24cc7@googlegroups >:
      thought it was the two-sixths power of pi, and teh[sic]secondpower of sixpiths
    • 2017January 13, thugst…@gmail, “Electron-positron annihilation”, insci.physics‎[6](Usenet), message-ID <89a35ff8-1df1-4ab5-baf5-fdc605207710@googlegroups >:
      of course, although apithis less than a third, hence pi is more than three, say, thirty-one tenths, but 22/7 is still less than pi, and that's a rather small gore
Translations
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References

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  1. ^“pith(e,n.”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
  2. ^Compare“pith,n.”,inOED OnlinePaid subscription required⁠,Oxford:Oxford University Press,September 2023;“pith,n.”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
  3. ^“pith,v.”,inOED OnlinePaid subscription required⁠,Oxford:Oxford University Press,July 2023;“pith,v.”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
  4. ^“pethen,v.”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromOld Englishpiþa,fromProto-Germanic*piþô.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key):/ˈpiθ(ə)/,/ˈpið(ə)/,/ˈpeːθ(ə)/

Noun

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pith(uncountable)

  1. The softinteriorportion of something, especially:
    1. (botany)pith(soft substance in the center of a plant'sstem)
    2. Thepulp(soft innards)of afruit.
  2. (figuratively)Theessentialorvitalpart;importance.
  3. (figuratively)Power,strength,might.

Descendants

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  • English:pith
  • Scots:pith

References

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