pittance

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pit=tance
• COUNT in NET: 1 in 1 verses (in OT : 1 in 1 verses)

CIDE DICTIONARY

pittance, n. [OE. pitance, pitaunce, F. pitance; cf. It. pietanza, LL. pitancia, pittantia, pictantia; perh. fr. L. pietas pity, piety, or perhaps akin to E. petty. Cf. Petty, and Pity.].

•  An allowance of food bestowed in charity; a mess of victuals; hence, a small charity gift; a dole.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

  "One half only of this pittance was ever given him in money."  [1913 Webster]
•  A meager portion, quantity, or allowance; an inconsiderable salary or compensation.  Swift.  [1913 Webster]

  "The inconsiderable pittance of faithful professors."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

pittance, n.
1 a scanty or meagre allowance, remuneration, etc. (paid him a mere pittance).
2 a small number or amount.
3 hist. a pious bequest to a religious house for extra food etc.

Etymology

ME f. OF pitance f. med.L pi(e)tantia f. L pietas PITY

THESAURUS

pittance

ace, alms, alms fee, atom, bit, charity, collection, contribution, dab, dole, donation, donative, dot, dram, dribble, driblet, dwarf, farthing, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, gobbet, grain, granule, groat, hair, half rations, handful, handout, inadequacy, insufficiency, iota, jot, little, little bit, mere subsistence, minim, minimum, minutiae, mite, modicum, molecule, mote, nutshell, offering, offertory, ounce, particle, peanuts, pebble, pinch, point, scrap, scrimption, scruple, shoestring, short allowance, short commons, small potatoes, smidgen, smitch, speck, spoonful, spot, starvation wages, subscription, thimbleful, tiny bit, tithe, tittle, trace, trifling amount, trivia, votive offering, whit

ROGET THESAURUS

pittance

Insufficiency

N insufficiency, inadequacy, inadequateness, incompetence, deficiency, imperfection, shortcoming, paucity, stint, scantiness, none to spare, bare subsistence, scarcity, dearth, want, need, lack, poverty, exigency, inanition, starvation, famine, drought, dole, mite, pittance, short allowance, short commons, half rations, banyan day, emptiness, poorness, depletion, vacancy, flaccidity, ebb tide, low water, a beggarly account of empty boxes, indigence, insolvency, drain of resources, impoverish, stint, put on short allowance, do insufficiently, scotch the snake, Adj, insufficient, inadequate, too little, not enough, unequal to, incompetent, weighed in the balance and found wanting, perfunctory, deficient, wanting imperfect, ill-furnished, ill-provided, ill- stored, ill-off, slack, at a low ebb, empty, vacant, bare, short of, out of, destitute of, devoid of, bereft of, denuded of, dry, drained, unprovided, unsupplied, unfurnished, unreplenished, unfed, unstored, untreasured, empty-handed, meager, poor, thin, scrimp, sparing, spare, stinted, starved, starving, halfstarved, famine-stricken, famished, jejune, scant, scarce, not to be had, not to be had for love or money, not to be had at any price, scurvy, stingy, at the end of one's tether, without resources, in want, in debt, insufficiently, in default of, for want of, failing, semper avarus eget.

Apportionment

N apportionment, allotment, consignment, assignment, appointment, appropriation, dispensation, distribution, division, deal, repartition, partition, administration, dividend, portion, contingent, share, allotment, fair share, allocation, lot, measure, dose, dole, meed, pittance, quantum, ration, ratio, proportion, quota, modicum, mess, allowance, suerte, apportioning, respective, respectively, each to each.

Receipt

N receipt, value received, money coming in, income, incomings, innings, revenue, return, proceeds, gross receipts, net profit, earnings, accepta, avails, rent, rent roll, rental, rentage, rack-rent, premium, bonus, sweepstakes, tontine, pension, annuity, jointure, alimony, palimony, pittance, emolument, receiving, received, profitable.