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pith
[ pith ]
noun
- Botany. the soft, spongy central cylinder of parenchymatous tissue in the stems of dicotyledonous plants.
- the white, spongy part of a citrus fruit between the rind and the thin, transparent skin of individual segments.
- Zoology. the soft inner part of a feather, a hair, etc.
the pith of the matter.
an argument without pith.
- Archaic. spinal cord or bone marrow.
- Archaic. strength, force, or vigor; mettle:
men of pith.
verb (used with object)
- to remove the pith from (plants).
- to destroy the spinal cord or brain of.
- to slaughter, as cattle, by severing the spinal cord.
pith
/ pɪθ /
noun
- the soft fibrous tissue lining the inside of the rind in fruits such as the orange and grapefruit
- the essential or important part, point, etc
- weight; substance
- Also calledmedulla botany the central core of unspecialized cells surrounded by conducting tissue in stems
- the soft central part of a bone, feather, etc
verb
- to destroy the brain and spinal cord of (a laboratory animal) by piercing or severing
- to kill (animals) by severing the spinal cord
- to remove the pith from (a plant)
pith
/ pĭth /
Noun
- The soft, spongy tissue in the center of the stems of most flowering plants, gymnosperms, and ferns. Pith is composed of parenchyma cells. In plants that undergo secondary growth, such as angiosperms, the pith is surrounded by the vascular tissues and is gradually compressed by the inward growth of the vascular tissue known as xylem. In plants with woody stems, the pith dries out and often disintegrates as the plant grows older, leaving the stem hollow.
- See illustration at xylem
Verb
- To remove the pith from a plant stem.
- To sever or destroy the spinal cord of an animal for the purpose of dissecting it, usually by inserting a needle into the spinal canal.
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of pith1
Example Sentences
It is more like a sweet wine with hints of dried apricots, grapefruit pith, cypress, and lemons.
Haass, now the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, blends history, memoir, and policy pith to great effect.
The unprepared sago is imported from the neighbouring island of Borromeo, and consists of the pith of a short, thick kind of palm.
The pith of the whole sentence can be stated in a few words, if the sentence has unity.
What a tendency there is to round off a narrative into falsehood; or else by parenthesis to destroy its pith and continuity.
These wicks of pith he sold about the town in small penny bundles.
Stem: Cylindrical; creamy white; hollow, or with a loose cottony pith.
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