tithe
[tahyth]
- Sometimes tithes. the tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax for the support of the church, priesthood, or the like.
- any tax, levy, or the like, especially of one-tenth.
- a tenth part or any indefinitely small part of anything.
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- to give or pay a tithe or tenth of (produce, money, etc.).
- to give or pay tithes on (crops, income, etc.).
- to exact a tithe from (a person, community, parish, etc.).
- to levy a tithe on (crops, income, etc.).
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- to give or pay a tithe.
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Also British, tythe.
Origin of tithe
before 900; (noun) Middle English ti(ghe)the, Old English teogotha tenth; (v.) Middle English tithen, Old English teogothian to take the tenth of, derivative of the noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tithe
Contemporary Examples
They volunteer at shelters and tithe their earnings—not nearly enough.
He left because he no longer could afford to tithe to the church, and was thus deemed “unworthy.”
“Much of its wealth comes from the fervent devotion of members, who tithe faithfully,” wrote Jenkins.
Historical Examples
But we cannot enumerate a tithe of the masterpieces of the British Encyclopædia.
Leading Articles on Various SubjectsHugh Miller
But the parson knows Juan, and proceeds to examine his tithe.
The Little Manx Nation - 1891Hall Caine
Surely, no more than he found—nay, not a tithe of that he found.
The Wild GeeseStanley John Weyman
In all his life the adventurer had never been possessed of a tithe of this amount.
A Romance of the West IndiesEugne Sue
Yet it was barely a tithe of the sudden burden he had to bear.
VC -- A Chronicle of Castle Barfield and of the CrimeaDavid Christie Murray
tithe
- (often plural) Christianity a tenth part of agricultural or other produce, personal income, or profits, contributed either voluntarily or as a tax for the support of the church or clergy or for charitable purposes
- any levy, esp of one tenth
- a tenth or very small part of anything
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- (tr)
- to exact or demand a tithe or tithes from (an individual or group)
- to levy a tithe upon (a crop or amount of produce, etc)
- (intr) to pay a tithe or tithes
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Word Origin
Old English teogoth; related to Old Frisian tegotha, Old Saxon tegotho, Old High German zehando, Old Norse tīundi, Gothic taihunda
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
Word Origin and History for tithe
n.
Old English teogoþa (Anglian), teoþa (West Saxon) "tenth," from Proto-Germanic *tegunthon, *tekhunthon. Retained in ecclesiastical sense while the form was replaced in ordinal use by tenth (influenced by ten).
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v.
Old English teoþian, from the root of tithe (n.). Related: Tithed; tithing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tithe
A tenth part of one's annual income contributed to support the clergy or a church. The Mosaic law required the Israelites to pay a tithe for the support of worship.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.