Pith
[pɪθ]
Definition
(noun.) soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants.
(verb.) remove the pith from (a plant).
Checked by Alfreda--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The soft spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees, especially those of the dicotyledonous or exogenous classes. It consists of cellular tissue.
(n.) The spongy interior substance of a feather.
(n.) The spinal cord; the marrow.
(n.) Hence: The which contains the strength of life; the vital or essential part; concentrated force; vigor; strength; importance; as, the speech lacked pith.
(v. t.) To destroy the central nervous system of (an animal, as a frog), as by passing a stout wire or needle up and down the vertebral canal.
Edited by Harold
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Heart, marrow.[2]. Essence, quintessence, substance, gist, soul, chief part, essential part, vital part.[3]. Weight, moment, importance.[4]. Force, strength, energy, vigor.
Checker: Trent
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Kernel, marrow, gist, substance, essence, cream, root
ANT:Surplusage, surroundings, dressing, verbiage
Inputed by Elvira
Definition
n. the marrow or soft substance in the centre of the stems of dicotyledonous plants: force or energy: importance: condensed substance: quintessence.—n. Pith′-ball a pellet of pith.—adv. Pith′ily.—n. Pith′iness.—adj. Pith′less wanting pith force or energy.—n. Pith′-pā′per a thin sheet cut from pith for paper: rice-paper.—adj. Pith′y full of pith: forcible: strong: energetic.
Checked by Bertrand
Examples
- Another and cheaper product experimented with is the pith of the cornstalk, which is much lighter than the cocoanut fiber and serves the same purpose. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The first method that suggested itself was to transmit signals by means of pith-ball electrometers. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- That was the pith of the information with which Holmes left the office of the Adelaide-Southampton company. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- To produce all the requisite signals with a single pith-ball electrometer, it was necessary to vary the durations of each divergence, and to combine several to form a single symbol. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- That the prongs are in motion, however, is seen by the action of a pith ball when brought in contact with the prongs (see Section 250). Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- I kept myself up with proverbs as long as I could; Pride must abide,--and such wholesome pieces of pith; but it was of no use. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- In this manner the person at the receiving station, by attentively watching the pith-balls, and noticing the letter that appeared at the instant of collapse, could read the messages signalled. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The community was like a pithed animal in the hands of the governing class. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Typed by Ada