pittance
/ˈpɪtəns/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "In the very prime of life, Mr. Glentworth found every prospect gone; he had only a meagre pittance, compared to his former expenditure; but he had neither the habits nor the opportunity of increasing it."
- "So I went to keep house with him at the Why Not? and my aunt sent down my bag of clothes, and would have made over to Elzevir the pittance that my father left for my keep, but he said it was not needful, and he would have none of it."
- "Dad was forced to claim benefit money from the government. It was a pittance, barely enough to live on."
- "The former residents of Fraguas, who sold up for a pittance, have swung behind the resettlement, happy to see life return to the narrow lanes where they grew up."
Etymology
From Middle English pitaunce, from Old French pitance, pitence, from Medieval Latin *pietāntia, from Latin pietās (“piety”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: pitaunce, pitance, *pietāntia, pietās