tithe
/taɪð/
tithe noun: a tenth.
Noun
tithe (plural tithes)
- A tenth.
- But really that gold was not half
That a king might have hoped to compel—
Not a half, not a third, not a tithe.1936, Robert Frost, “The Vindictives”, in A Further Range
- But really that gold was not half
- The tenth part of the increase arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support, as in England, or devoted to religious or charitable uses; a tax taking ten percent of land or stock profits, used for religious or charitable purposes.
- For this is abundantly confuted by the Constitutions and Practice of these Christian States where Tithes have been variously settled, for maintenance of the Evangelical Priest-hood ; and other pious Uses, by legal and civil Tithes, which imply a Debitum Justitiæ.1705, William Forbes, A Treatise of Church-lands & Tithes, page 284
- That there is and from time immemorial has been within that part of the parish called Mablethorpe St. Mary's a laudable custom that, if any outdweller take ancient pasture ground, he shall pay a modus of 4d. an acre, and so in proportion, on the 1st of August, in lieu of all manner of tithe; and...1917, The English Reports: Exchequer, page 789
- A contribution to one's religious community or congregation of worship (notably to the LDS church).
- A small part or proportion.
- Prayers and calling-over seemed twice as short as usual, and before they could get construes of a tithe of the hard passages marked in the margin of their books, they were all seated round, and the Doctor was standing in the middle, talking in whispers to the master.1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days
- I scarcely know any thing that really interests me, and I would give a great deal not to be so quick-sighted as I am; it would be so pleasant to believe only a tithe of the professions that are made me.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Presentiment”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 126
Adjective
tithe (not comparable)
- Tenth.
- Euery tythe ſoule, 'mongſt many thouſand diſmes,c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Verb
tithe (third-person singular simple present tithes, present participle tithing, simple past and past participle tithed)
- To pay something as a tithe.
- He teoðode gynd eall his cyne rice ðone teoðan del ealra his landa.854, "Grant by Adulf" in Cartularium Saxonicum, Book ii, 79
- A reply sent to a young member by the sect's letter-answering department was more precise: ‘A person working for wages is to tithe one-tenth of the total amount of his wages before income tax, national health, or other deductions are removed.’1967 August 6, Observer, section 4
- To pay a tithe upon something.
- ...ge tiogoðiað eowre mintan & eowerne dile & eowerne kymen.c. 897, King Alfred translating St Gregory, Pastoral Care, Chapter lvii
- The maner of tiething pigge and gose is, yf one have vijᵗʰ, to pay one.1562, F.J. Furnivall, editor, Child-marriages... in the Diocese of Chester A.D. 1561-6, page 138
- To pay a tithe; to pay a 10% tax
- Þe prest þe meneȝeð rihtliche teðien.a. 1200, Trinity College Homilies, 215
- They went to the Six Hickories church—tithed—and behaved themselves.1942 September, Esquire, page 174
- Synonyms:
- decimate
- To pay or offer as a levy in the manner of a tithe or religious tax.
- These slaves are either the sonnes of Christians, tithed in their childhoods, Captives taken in the warres, or Renegadoes.1630, Anonymous translation of Giovanni Botero, anonymously translated as Relations of the Most Famous Kingdomes and Common-wealths, p. 510
- Former Southern officers prospered and tithed up to 50 percent for Civil War II, which never came.1976 June 20, Billings Gazette, C1
- To take one-tenth or a tithe of something, particularly
- gif we teoðiað þas gearlican dagas, þonne beoð þær six and ðritig teoðing-dagas.c. 1000, Ælfric, Homilies, Vol. I, 178
- To impose a tithe upon someone or something.
- Leeuy, that took tithis, is tithid.1382, Wycliffite Bible, Hebrews 7:9
- The cost... has been defrayed by tithing the whole Mormon Church. Those who reside at Nauvoo... have been obliged to work every tenth day in quarrying stone.1843, Frederick Marryat, chapter XI, in Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet, in California, Sonora, & Western Texas, volume III, page 212
- To spare only every tenth person, killing the rest (usually in relation to the sacking of the episcopal seat at Canterbury by the pagan Danes in 1011).
- Þe folk of Crist was tiþed, þat is to seie, nyne slayn and þe tenþe i-kepte.1387, Ranulf Higden, translated by John de Trevisa, Polychronicon, VII, 89
- The multitude are tith'd, and every tenth only spar'd.1670, John Milton, The History of Britain, vi, 256
- To enforce or collect a tithe upon someone or something.
- The Monkes the Priors and holy cloystred Nunnes,
Are all in health,...1591, The Troublesome Raigne of Iohn King of England, i, G - When the parson or Procter commeth to tythe his wooll.a. 1642, Henry Best, The Farming and Memorandum Books of Henry Best of Elmswell, published 1984, page 26
- Synonyms:
- decimate, tithe out
- The Monkes the Priors and holy cloystred Nunnes,
- To decimate: to kill every tenth person, usually as a military punishment.
- By decimation, and a tithed death, / ... take thou the destin'd tenth1606, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
- The Thebane Legion... was first tithed, that is, every tenth man thereof was executed.1609, A. Marcellinus, translated by Philemon Holland, The Romane Historie, D, iii
- Synonyms:
- decimate
- To enforce or collect a tithe.
- Those who tithe and toll upon them for their spiritual and temporal benefit.1822, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter VI, in Maid Marian, page 210
- To compose the tenth part of something.
- Her sorrowes did not tith her ioy.1586, William Warner, Albions England: A Continued Historie, i, v, 15
tithe meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Kannada and Tagalog
tithe in Tamil
- பதின்கூற்றுவரி, பதின்மப்பாசகம், பதின்வரி
tithe in Urdu
- دسواں حصہ, عشر
tithe in Kannada
- ದಶಾಂಶ, ದಶಾಂಶ ತೆರಿಗೆ
tithe in Tagalog
- tax paid to the Church
- pahunos
More languagesFewer languages
- tithe in Indonesian
- persepuluhan
Examples of tithe in a sentence
- Here with the sacred money [Xenophon] built an altar and a temple, and ever after, year by year, tithed the fruits of the land in their season and did sacrifice to the goddess.1901, Xenophon, translated by H.G. Dakyns, Anabasis, Book V, Chapter iii, §9:
- Keeping aliue... two principall persons, that they might be tithed with the soldiors...1610, William Camden, translated by Philemon Holland, A Chorographicall Description of... England, Scotland, and Ireland, i, 705:
Synonyms of tithe
Forms of tithe
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | tithes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | tithes |
| present participle | tithing |
| past participle | tithed |
| past | tithed |
Origin of tithe
From Middle English tithe, tythe, tethe, from Old English tēoþa, tēoða, teogoþa (in verb senses via Middle English tithen, tythen, tethen, from Old English tēoþian, teogoþian), from a proposed Proto-Germanic *tehunþô, *tehundô (“a tenth”), with its nasal consonant being lost according to the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law. Cognate with West Frisian tsiende (“tithe”), Saterland Frisian Teeged (“tithe”), Dutch tiende, German Low German Teihnte, German Zehnt (“tithe”), Danish tiende (“tithe”), Icelandic tíund (“tithe”), Dutch tiende (“tithe”). Doublet of tenth.
Words formed from tithe
Phrases with tithe
Words that rhyme with tithe
Questions about tithe
- What does tithe mean?
- Tithe means a tenth.
- What is tithe in Tamil?
- Tithe in Tamil is பதின்கூற்றுவரி, பதின்மப்பாசகம், பதின்வரி. See Tithe meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use tithe in a sentence?
- Here with the sacred money [Xenophon] built an altar and a temple, and ever after, year by year, tithed the fruits of the land in their season and did sacrifice to the goddess.
- What part of speech is tithe?
- Tithe can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce tithe?
- Tithe is pronounced /taɪð/.
- What is the plural of tithe?
- The plural of tithe is tithes.
Words near tithe in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tithe (page history and authors); tithe (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tithe (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); tithe (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-tithe.wav.
Cite this entry: “tithe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tithe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.