tithe Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a levy of one tenth of something
  2. noun an offering of a tenth part of some personal income
  3. verb exact a tithe from
    • The church was tithed
  4. verb levy a tithe on (produce or a crop)
    • The wool was tithed
  5. verb pay one tenth of; pay tithes on, especially to the church
    • He tithed his income to the Church
  6. verb pay a tenth of one's income, especially to the church
    • Although she left the church officially, she still tithes

WordNet

Tithe noun
Etymology
OE. tithe, tethe, properly an adj., tenth, AS. teóa the tenth; akin to tién, tn, ten, ten, G. zehnte, adj., tenth, n., a tithe, Icel. tiund the tenth; tithe, Goth. taíhunda tenth. See Ten, and cf. Tenth, Teind.
Definitions
  1. A tenth; the tenth part of anything; specifically, the tenthpart 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. Almost all the tithes of England and Wales are commuted by law into rent charges.
    The tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil. Neh. xiii. 5.
    ✍ Tithes are called personal when accuring from labor, art, trade, and navigation; predial, when issuing from the earth, as hay, wood, and fruit; and mixed, when accuring from beaste fed from the ground. Blackstone.
  2. Hence, a small part or proportion. Bacon.
Tithe adjective
Definitions
  1. Tenth. Obs.
    Every tithe soul, 'mongst many thousand. Shak.
Tithe transitive verb
Etymology
As. teóian.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Tithed ; present participle & verbal noun Tithing
Definitions
  1. To levy a tenth part on; to tax to the amount of a tenth; to pay tithes on.
    Ye tithe mint and rue. Luke xi. 42.
Tithe intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. Tp pay tithes. R. Tusser.

Webster 1913