Meaning

14 senses
  1. (uncountable, usually)The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.

    Mark

    сердцеви́наserdcevína

    soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants

  2. (uncountable, usually)The albedo (“whitish inner portion of the rind”) of a citrus fruit.

  3. Senses relating to humans and animals.

    (broadly, uncountable, usually)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.

  4. (broadly, uncountable, usually)Chiefly of animals: the soft tissue inside a spinal cord; the spinal marrow; also, the spinal cord itself.

  5. (Ireland, Southern England, West Country, broadly, uncountable, usually)The soft inner portion of a loaf of bread.

    мякишmjakiš

  6. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)The central or innermost part of something; the core, the heart.

  7. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)The essential or vital part of something; the essence.

    The pith of my idea is that people should choose their own work hours.

    сутьsutʹ

    the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

  8. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)Physical power or strength; force, might.

  9. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)A quality of courage and endurance; backbone, mettle, spine.

  10. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)The energy, force, or power of speech or writing; specifically, such force or power due to conciseness; punch, punchiness.

  11. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)Chiefly in of (great) pith and moment: gravity, importance, substance, weight.

  12. (transitive)One divided by pi, that is, 1/π (approximately 0.31831…).

Examples

3 sentences
  1. The pith of an orange is rather bitter.

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  2. We need to discuss the pith of the matter.

    ruНам нужно обсудить суть вопроса.

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  3. Tom is such a picky eater that he'll diligently pick the stringy pith from an orange before eating it.

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Translations

7 languages
Русский
By meaning 3
soft, spongy substance inside plant parts:
soft inner portion of a loaf of bread:
essential or vital part of something — see also essence:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
soft, spongy substance inside plant parts:

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English pith, pithe (“soft interior; pith, pulp”) [and oth

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”).

From pi (“constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a Euclidean circle to its diameter”) + -th (suffix forming ordinal numerals).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: piths
Singularpith

uncountable

Synonyms

34 synonyms

Word family

8 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
pith — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto