What does "tithe" mean?
A tenth.
Tithe
/taɪð/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A tenth.
- Grammar: tithe is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: alms, alms fee, ask, assess.
- Useful contrasts: abolish, exempt, keep.
- Usage evidence: Tithe was one of the pillars of the French Ancien Régime.
How to use "tithe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tithe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tithe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tithe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tithe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tithe" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alms" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tithe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A tenth. archaic
"But really that gold was not half That a king might have hoped to compel— Not a half, not a third, not a tithe."
- 2 an offering of a tenth part of some personal income wordnet
- 3 The tenth part of the increase arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support, as in England, or devoted to religious or charitable uses; a tax taking ten percent of land or stock profits, used for religious or charitable purposes. historical
"For this is abundantly confuted by the Constitutions and Practice of these Christian States where Tithes have been variously settled, for maintenance of the Evangelical Priest-hood ; and other pious Uses, by legal and civil Tithes, which imply a Debitum Justitiæ."
- 4 a levy of one tenth of something wordnet
- 5 A contribution to one's religious community or congregation of worship (notably to the LDS church).
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A small part or proportion.
"Prayers and calling-over seemed twice as short as usual, and before they could get construes of a tithe of the hard passages marked in the margin of their books, they were all seated round, and the Doctor was standing in the middle, talking in whispers to the master."
Verb
- 1 To give one-tenth or a tithe of something; To pay something as a tithe. transitive
"He teoðode gynd eall his cyne rice ðone teoðan del ealra his landa."
- 2 pay a tenth of one's income; pay one tenth of, especially to the church wordnet
- 3 To give one-tenth or a tithe of something; To pay a tithe upon something. transitive
"...ge tiogoðiað eowre mintan & eowerne dile & eowerne kymen."
- 4 levy a tithe on (produce or a crop) wordnet
- 5 To give one-tenth or a tithe of something; To pay a tithe; to pay a 10% tax intransitive
"Þe prest þe meneȝeð rihtliche teðien."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 exact a tithe from wordnet
- 7 To give one-tenth or a tithe of something; To pay or offer as a levy in the manner of a tithe or religious tax. figuratively, intransitive
"These slaves are either the sonnes of Christians, tithed in their childhoods, Captives taken in the warres, or Renegadoes."
- 8 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something, particularly
"gif we teoðiað þas gearlican dagas, þonne beoð þær six and ðritig teoðing-dagas."
- 9 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something; To impose a tithe upon someone or something. transitive
"Leeuy, that took tithis, is tithid."
- 10 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something; To spare only every tenth person, killing the rest (usually in relation to the sacking of the episcopal seat at Canterbury by the pagan Danes in 1011). transitive
"Þe folk of Crist was tiþed, þat is to seie, nyne slayn and þe tenþe i-kepte."
- 11 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something; To enforce or collect a tithe upon someone or something. transitive
"The Monkes the Priors and holy cloystred Nunnes, Are all in health,..."
- 12 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something; To decimate: to kill every tenth person, usually as a military punishment. obsolete, transitive
"By decimation, and a tithed death, / ... take thou the destin'd tenth"
- 13 To take one-tenth or a tithe of something; To enforce or collect a tithe. intransitive
"Those who tithe and toll upon them for their spiritual and temporal benefit."
- 14 To compose the tenth part of something. obsolete, transitive
"Her sorrowes did not tith her ioy."
Adjective
- 1 Tenth. archaic, not-comparable
"Euery tythe ſoule, 'mongſt many thouſand diſmes,"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Tithe was one of the pillars of the French Ancien Régime."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tithe"?
Common synonyms include: alms, alms fee, ask, assess, assess, assessment.
How do you use "tithe" in a sentence?
Tithe was one of the pillars of the French Ancien Régime.
How do you pronounce "tithe"?
Pronounced /taɪð/.
Etymology
From Middle English tithe, tythe, tethe, from Old English tēoþa, tēoða, teogoþa (in verb senses via Middle English tithen, tythen, tethen, from Old English tēoþian, teogoþian), from a proposed Proto-Germanic *tehunþô, *tehundô (“a tenth”), with its nasal consonant being lost according to the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law. Cognate with West Frisian tsiende (“tithe”), Saterland Frisian Teeged (“tithe”), Dutch tiende, German Low German Teihnte, German Zehnt (“tithe”), Danish tiende (“tithe”), Icelandic tíund (“tithe”), Dutch tiende (“tithe”).