pith

[ pith ]
/ pɪθ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pith ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object)

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Origin of pith

before 900; Middle English; Old English pitha; cognate with Dutch pit. See pit2

Words nearby pith

pitchstone, pitchy, piteous, pitesti, pitfall, pith, pith helmet, pith ray, pithead, pithecanthrope, pithecanthropoid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to pith

vigor, heart, substance, embodiment, meat, gist, importance, essence, soul, crux, fiber, nucleus, significance, strength, force, marrow, pulp, center, medulla, corey

Example sentences from the Web for pith

British Dictionary definitions for pith

pith
/ (pɪθ) /

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for pith

Old English pitha; compare Middle Low German pedik, Middle Dutch pitt (e)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for pith

pith
[ pĭth ]

n.

The soft inner substance of a hair.
Spinal cord or bone marrow. No longer in technical use.

v.

To sever or destroy the spinal cord of a vertebrate animal, usually by means of a needle inserted into the vertebral canal.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for pith

pith
[ pĭth ]

Noun

The soft, spongy tissue in the center of the stems of most flowering plants, gymnosperms, and ferns. Pith is composed of parenchyma cells. In plants that undergo secondary growth, such as angiosperms, the pith is surrounded by the vascular tissues and is gradually compressed by the inward growth of the vascular tissue known as xylem. In plants with woody stems, the pith dries out and often disintegrates as the plant grows older, leaving the stem hollow. See illustration at xylem.

Verb

To remove the pith from a plant stem.
To sever or destroy the spinal cord of an animal for the purpose of dissecting it, usually by inserting a needle into the spinal canal.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.