pittance

noun

pit·​tance ˈpi-tᵊn(t)s How to pronounce pittance (audio)
: a small portion, amount, or allowance
also : a meager wage or remuneration

Did you know?

It's a pity when you haven't anything but a pittance. And in fact, pity and pittance share etymological roots. The Middle English word pittance came from Anglo-French pitance, meaning "pity" or "piety." Originally, a pittance was a gift or bequest to a religious community, or a small charitable gift. Ultimately, the word comes from the Latin pietas, meaning "piety" or "compassion." Our words pity and piety come from pietas as well.

Examples of pittance in a Sentence

the internship offers only a pittance for a salary, but it is a great opportunity to gain experience
Recent Examples on the Web The remaining 15% of affordable units is a pittance in relation to the real needs of families in Silicon Valley. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024 Replicating that success in the rest of the world would cost a relative pittance and spare millions of people from death and disability. Rachel Silverman Bonnifield, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2024 And the cost to buy DeBoer out of his contract is a relative pittance (reportedly $12 million). Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2024 Fort Lauderdale commissioners on Tuesday are poised to convey a highly valuable property right to a private developer for a pittance — at least for now. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2024 But these are pittances compared to the $10 billion that Microsoft has committed to OpenAI. Rob Reid, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2023 Moreover, the electrons have about the same energy as those inside an old-style cathode ray tube television: again, a pittance by particle accelerator standards. Rahul Rao, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023 But as the population soared and spending lagged, public schools grew so overcrowded that students had to attend in shifts, buildings crumbled from a lack of maintenance and inflation shrank already-low teacher salaries to pittances. Vivian Yee, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2023 From 2013 to 2017 the average cost for a click on Facebook was between 21 cents and 27 cents—a pittance compared to the vast sums required to advertise on television or elsewhere. Sam Venis, The New Republic, 30 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pittance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pitance, from Anglo-French, piety, pity, dole, portion, from Medieval Latin pietantia, from pietant-, pietans, present participle of pietari to be charitable, from Latin pietas piety — more at pity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pittance was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Pittance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pittance. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pittance

noun
pit·​tance ˈpit-ᵊn(t)s How to pronounce pittance (audio)
: a small portion, amount, or allowance especially of money

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