pith

[ pith ]

noun

1. Botany. the soft, spongy central cylinder of parenchymatous tissue in the stems of dicotyledonous plants.
2. the white, spongy part of a citrus fruit between the rind and the thin, transparent skin of individual segments.
3. Zoology. the soft inner part of a feather, a hair, etc.
4. the important or essential part; essence; core; heart:

   the pith of the matter.

5. significant weight; substance; solidity:

   an argument without pith.

6. Archaic. spinal cord or bone marrow.
7. Archaic. strength, force, or vigor; mettle:

   men of pith.

verb (used with object)

1. to remove the pith from (plants).
2. to destroy the spinal cord or brain of.
3. to slaughter, as cattle, by severing the spinal cord.

pith

/ pɪθ /

noun

1. the soft fibrous tissue lining the inside of the rind in fruits such as the orange and grapefruit
2. the essential or important part, point, etc
3. weight; substance
4. Also calledmedulla botany the central core of unspecialized cells surrounded by conducting tissue in stems
5. the soft central part of a bone, feather, etc

verb

1. to destroy the brain and spinal cord of (a laboratory animal) by piercing or severing
2. to kill (animals) by severing the spinal cord
3. to remove the pith from (a plant)

pith

/ pĭth /

Noun

1. 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.
2. See illustration at xylem

Verb

1. To remove the pith from a plant stem.
2. 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

Origin of pith¹

First recorded before before 900; Middle English pith(e), pitthe, Old English pitha; cognate with Dutch pit; pit ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of pith¹

Old English pitha; compare Middle Low German pedik, Middle Dutch pitt ( e )

Example Sentences

Joe Biden is not known for pith in his public remarks; he is known for spiraling, ungrammatical sentence construction, digression, and avuncular nonsense.

From Slate

Warwick calls decapitation a “brutally cruel” method, and he thinks it’s unlikely that civilian hunters routinely pith the snakes’ brains.

From National Geographic

Not only that, but the amount of dirt that clung to the stalk indicated the wealth of a future partner and "if the pith tastes sweet it shows that the husband or wife of the lucky individual is to be sweet also".

From Salon

This layer holds moisture, much like the pith in the center of a tree trunk.

From Scientific American

The last is painted on the semi-circular pith of a banana tree and is owned by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

From BBC