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Added 9 October 2026

pith

/pɪθ/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pith at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants.
The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience.
the gist of the prosecutor's argument

verb

Remove the pith from (a plant).

Origin

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”). The verb Middle English pethen (“to give courage or strength”), derived from pith (noun), did not survive into modern English. Cognates * Dutch peen (“carrot”) * Middle Low German peddek, peddik, piddek (“bone marrow; medulla; spinal cord; inner part of a horn or quill; (figurative) core, essence”) (the last spelling rare) (Low German Peddik (“core; pulp”)) * West Frisian piid (“pulp, kernel”)

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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