pittance

noun

pit·​tance ˈpi-tᵊn(t)s 

: 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.

Synonyms

• chicken feed [slang]
• chump change
• dime
• hay
• mite
• peanuts
• pin money
• shoestring
• song
• two cents

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

Fischer helmed the British Museum from 2016 to 2023, departing in the wake of allegations that a staff member there was stealing priceless treasures from the museum’s storeroom and selling them on eBay for a comparative pittance. —News Desk, Artforum, 12 July 2024

The baby’s father liked fetishizing Margo’s blue-collar life but wants no part of the reality: His family makes her sign a nondisclosure agreement for a pittance. —Karin Tanabe, Washington Post, 4 July 2024

And in return for this pittance, these countries are being asked to forgo a range of other taxes, such as those levied on digital services, which over the long run might bring in considerable revenue with low administrative costs—just the kind of taxes developing countries need. —Joseph E. Stiglitz, Foreign Affairs, 3 July 2024

The period between the mid-1940s and the mid-1980s was a sweet spot in which technology and active suppression shrank free-burning fires to a pittance. —Stephen Pyne, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024

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

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Kids Definition

pittance

noun

pit·​tance ˈpit-ᵊn(t)s 

: a small portion, amount, or allowance especially of money