Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A portion of one's annual income contributed voluntarily or due as a tax, especially a contribution of one tenth of one's income for the support of the clergy or church.
  • noun The institution or obligation of paying tithes.
  • noun A tax or assessment of one tenth.
  • noun A tenth part.
  • noun A very small part.
  • intransitive verb To pay (a portion of one's income) as a tithe.
  • intransitive verb To levy a tithe on.
  • intransitive verb To pay a tithe.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To subject to tithes or the payment of a tithe; impose a tithe or tenth of or upon.
  • To pay tithes on; give or yield up a tithe of.
  • To take or reckon by tenths or tens; take tithe or every tenth of.
  • To pay tithes.
  • To concede; grant.
  • Tenth.
  • noun A tenth; the tenth part of anything; hence, any indefinitely small part.
  • noun A contribution or tax for some public use, either voluntary or enforced, of one tenth of the quantity or of the value of the subject from or on account of which it is paid; hence, any ratable tax payable in kind or by commutation of its value in money.
  • noun A tax assessed by the vestry of a parish.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To levy a tenth part on; to tax to the amount of a tenth; to pay tithes on.
  • adjective obsolete Tenth.
  • noun 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.
  • noun Hence, a small part or proportion.
  • noun tithes of corn, hay, and wood.
  • noun tithes of wool, milk, pigs, etc.
  • noun personal and mixed tithes.
  • noun [Eng.] one of a board of officers appointed by the government for arranging propositions for commuting, or compounding for, tithes.
  • intransitive verb rare Tp pay tithes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaic A tenth.
  • noun 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. Almost all the tithes of England and Wales are commuted by law into rent charges. Concept originates in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).
  • noun A contribution to one's religious community or congregation of worship.
  • noun A small part or proportion.
  • adjective archaic Tenth.
  • verb transitive  To collect a tithe.
  • verb intransitive To pay a tithe.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an offering of a tenth part of some personal income
  • verb pay one tenth of; pay tithes on, especially to the church
  • verb pay a tenth of one's income, especially to the church
  • verb exact a tithe from
  • verb levy a tithe on (produce or a crop)
  • noun a levy of one tenth of something

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, tithe consisting of a tenth part of one's goods or income, from Old English tēotha, tenth, tithe; see dekm̥ in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English tēoþa (Old English underwent the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, which resulted in the elimination of the nasal consonant from Germanic *tehunþ-). Compare Icelandic tíund.

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Examples

  • At length the auction commenced, and the first article put up for competition was a fine heifer, but not an individual present would open his lips to bid for her; and, on a little further examination, it was ascertained that all the cattle had been branded with the word tithe, in large and legible characters.

    The Tithe-Proctor The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two William Carleton 1831

  • Let’s recreate the country in that model, smaller near-sovereign units of government, about the average size of the original states (300K or so) (and keep them that way), with the federal government reduced to insuring tax and regulatory competition between the new states, freedom to vote with your feet, a common currency, the common (external) defense paid for with a tithe from the states, and little more.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » The Right to Carry Concealed Guns Debate: Pretty Similar in 1872 and in 2010 2010

  • What if the whole Church recast the idea of tithe as a fraction of our treasure given back to God in the world and not our institutions?

    Christopher Cocca: Ending Poverty With Global Christianity's Phantom Trillion Christopher Cocca 2011

  • What if the whole Church recast the idea of tithe as a fraction of our treasure given back to God in the world and not our institutions?

    Christopher Cocca: Ending Poverty With Global Christianity's Phantom Trillion Christopher Cocca 2011

  • If maaser rishon [first tithe, that is given to the Levites, including Korah] is brought, Moses commands that a tenth part of it must be given to the priest!

    Wife of Korah: Midrash and Aggadah. 2009

  • I was reading this article trying to find the religious angle implied by the use of the Old Testament word tithe, but the article seems to be dealing more with secular philanthropy.

    Waldo Jaquith - How much to tithe? 2007

  • I won't qualify for your tithe, which is a ok with the abundance of worthy causes listed here, but I just want to acknowledge my hella great elementary school.

    What Would Linus Do? 2008

  • The tithe has been the Episcopal Church's "minimum standard" since 1982, although the average annual gift from its 2.3 million members in 2006 reached only $1,718, less than the 10% requirement, according to its own figures.

    The Backlash Against Tithing 2007

  • I cannot carry this burden alone, but your tithe could be my companion.

    The Book of the SubGenius The SubGenius Foundation 1983

  • I cannot carry this burden alone, but your tithe could be my companion.

    The Book of the SubGenius The SubGenius Foundation 1983

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