pith

C2+ Topic:Plants & Agriculture

US /pɪθ/ UK /pɪθ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like pit /θ/ vs /t/

Meanings

1

noun
the essential or central part of something; spongy plant tissue

He cut straight to the pith of the argument.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the essential or central... essence core crux heart gist substance kernel marrow

Opposites

periphery exterior

Word family

Derived forms pithypithinesspithless

Simplified etymology

Pith is an Old English word. It is related to the Dutch word from which North American pit, meaning a fruit stone, was borrowed in the 19th century.

Etymology

From Old English pitha ('pith of plants, essential part'), from Proto-West Germanic *piþō (compare Dutch pit, Middle Low German peddik), of uncertain further origin.

pitha Old English *piþō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Plants & Agriculture

External links

# pith

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /pɪθ/
**IPA (UK):** /pɪθ/

## Meanings
1. the essential or central part of something; spongy plant tissue

## Examples
- He cut straight to the pith of the argument.

## Synonyms
- essence
- core
- crux
- heart
- gist
- substance
- kernel
- marrow

## Antonyms
- periphery
- exterior

## Derived Forms
- pithy
- pithiness
- pithless

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pitha
- Root: *piþō

## Etymology
From Old English pitha ('pith of plants, essential part'), from Proto-West Germanic *piþō (compare Dutch pit, Middle Low German peddik), of uncertain further origin.

## AI Etymology
Pith comes from Old English pitha ('pith of plants, essential part'), from Proto-West Germanic *piþō (compare Dutch pit, Middle Low German peddik), of uncertain further origin. The etymological trail includes Old English pitha and Proto-Germanic *piþō. As a noun, pith means the essential or central part of something; spongy plant tissue. The same family is visible in derived forms such as pithy, pithiness, and pithless. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Plants & Agriculture

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