† tithen.1
Obsolete.
A grant; a favour, a concession. See also bene-tithe adj. at bene n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > [noun] > granting
titheeOE
yating?c1225
grant?a1366
granting1609
affordment1623
yieldancea1656
vouchsafement1666
accordance1827
according1834
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xii. 196 Ne hæfdon wit monig oðer uncymre hors.., þæt wit meahton þearfum to tigðe [OE Corpus Oxf. tiþe, Cambr. Univ. Libr. tyðe] sellan?
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxvi. 398 Fela wundra gelumpon æt þæra apostola byrgenum þurh þæs hælendes tiðe.
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 234 He gefredde on his mode þæt Godes miht wæs towerd, and he astod þa up anbidigende unforht his bena tiða.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 201 Þat he..ȝife us bene tuðe.
c1475 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1913) 130 43 (MED) Graunt, lord, to me by tythe of prescyence, The lyues to sew of that generacioun, Whyche the ay seketh with full pure innocens.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
tithen.2
/tʌɪð/, U.S. /taɪð/α. early Middle English tigeðe, early Middle English tigðe, early Middle English tiȝeþe, Middle English tiþe, Middle English toyþe, Middle English tuþe, Middle English tyches (plural, transmission error), Middle English tyde, Middle English tyþe, Middle English–1700s tythe, Middle English– tithe, 1500s thiethe, 1500s tieth, 1500s–1600s tith, 1500s–1600s tyethe, 1500s–1700s tyth, 1600s tiyth (Scottish).
β. Middle English teath (in a late copy), Middle English tethys (plural), Middle English teþ, Middle English teþe, Middle English tewthes (plural), Middle English teyth, Middle English teythe, Middle English teyþe, Middle English thethis (plural), Middle English–1500s tethe; Scottish pre-1700 teath, pre-1700 teeth, pre-1700 teith, pre-1700 teyth.
1.
a. A tenth of annual produce or earnings, taken as a tax (originally in kind) for the support of the church and clergy; this system of taxation; now chiefly historical. Later also, in certain religious denominations: one tenth of an individual's income, pledged to the church.Also with modifying word specifying the type of tithe, as agistment tithe, great tithe, mixed tithes, predial tithe, privy tithe, small tithe, vicarial tithe, etc.: see the first element.The Mosaic law imposed a contribution of one tenth of agricultural produce for the support of the priesthood (cf. for example quots. a1400, 1611 at sense 1a(a)α. ), and later taxes of this kind have primarily been inspired and justified by this.
(a) In singular.In quot. a1790 at α. in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > benefice > other financial matters > [noun] > church dues > tithe
tithingOE
tithea1200
teinda1340
tenth1474
vicarage teind1610
α.
β. a1325 Lent (Corpus Cambr.) l. 21 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 129 (MED) So muche ouer þe riȝte teþe þerto we moste caste For ensample of oure Louerd þat forti dawes vaste.a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 347 (MED) Teche hem..How þey schule paye here teythe..Teyþe of huyre and of honde Goth by costome of þe londe.a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 43 He grauntyd & gaf to the holy my[n]chons a-foreseyde tethe of hys too Millis of Sewekeworth [= Seacourt] in corne, money, & fysshes.1591 (?a1425) Abraham, Lot, & Melchysedeck (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 58 (MED) Therfore of all that I have wone to give the teath I will begynne.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 83 Hie giuen here tigeðe noht for to hauen heuene blisse, ac for to hauen here þe hereword of eorðliche richeise.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. l. 85 For of my Corn and Catel heo Craueþ þe Tiþe [c1400 Trin. Cambr. R.3.14 tiþes].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1067 For þis tiþe [c1460 Laud tythe] þat þei delt Caym..To his broþere ire bare.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 367 He [sc. Adelwolf] was first of Inglond þat gaf god his tiþe.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mal. iii. 10 Brynge euery Tythe in to my barne.
1551–2 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 394 Iohn Crovcher oweth..The Tyth of his hovs.
1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xxvii. 30 And all the tithe of the land..is the Lords. View more context for this quotation
1621 R. Montagu Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 185 It being vncertaine in it selfe, whether Abraham gaue or receiued Tithe.
1708 J. Gordon Diary 24 July (1949) 169 On the 24 I wrot to Dr Fall asking his opinion..concerning the Tyth of potatus whether it was due or not.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 6 My Father intending to devote me as the Tithe of his Sons to the church.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation ii. iv. 186 It will be seen that half the cultivated land of Great Britain is unaffected by tithe.
1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter 156 The last symptom of restiveness..manifested against the tithe.
1931 Times 28 May 13/5 Statutable deductions for repairs, tithe, and similar outgoings.
1998 Church Times 29 May 11/2 A temple recommend, is granted to those..who live a morally upright life, and pay their tithe to the Church.
2014 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Oct. 42/1 Students who give maaser—the 10 percent tithe recommended by the Talmud—are more generous, he said.
(b) In plural. Payments made or received under this system of taxation.
ΚΠ
α.
β. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 305 He shal wite witerliche..what penaunce þe prest shal haue þat prout is of þe tethes [a1400 Laud 656 teþs].a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 46 Certen possessions, tethys, dewteys & othyr thynges.a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 67 Euery crystyn man lawfully pay his thethis.1517 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 397 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 Every shippe..shall paye half tethes to the Colladge of all suche fishe as they shall take.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 139 Chierche-þinges, tiȝeþes, ne offrendes, ne almesses.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1628 Her ic sal offrendes here don And tigðes wel gelden her-up-on.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 541 His tythes payde he ful faire and wel Bothe of his propre swynk and his catel.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton iii. sig. gjv The tythes whyche they owen to god and to holy chyrche.
?1529 Proper Dyaloge Gentillman & Husbandman sig. Avj Payenge of tythes open and preuy.
1547 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 64 I give to the hye alter for oblited thiethes a newe altare clothe.
1577 Manx Statute Bk. in Mariner's Mirror (1941) 27 91 The Bishops shall have their Herring Scoute and their fishing Boate..without any Tythes paying.
1651 R. Child Large Let. in S. Hartlib Legacie 30 The tithes of wine in Glocestershire was in divers Parishes considerably great.
a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 36 A donation of all the tyethes and other casualties.
1714 E. Freke Remembrances (2001) 118 The tithes and proffitts belonging to the appropryatt parrish church of West Billney.
1764 R. Burn Hist. Poor Laws i. 2 The whole tithes of the diocese were then paid to the bishop.
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. xi. 176 His own tithes here arn't more than a thirty pounds.
1882 Cent. Mag. Mar. 783/1 A people still very poor, after paying tithes, and money for temple-building.
1920 Hispanic Amer. Hist. Rev. 3 51 There had been a donation to the Jesuits of Puebla..of certain lands without reservation of the tithes.
1965 M. J. C. Calley God's People ix. 106 The 1960–1 income of a London congregation of the New Testament Church of God which claimed fifty-nine members in 1961 consisted of £900 from tithes and £200 from free-will offerings.
2007 Church Times 3 Aug. 20/3 Monarchs taxed the clergy heavily, noblemen gained fresh control of monasteries and tithes.
b. More generally: any levy, tax, or tribute of one tenth.See also Saladin tithe n. at Saladine adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [noun] > tithe
tithingOE
decimaa1325
dime1377
decimationc1460
tenth1587
tithe1600
in-teinds1621
decimate1641
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. v. xxv. 196 As for the collation and gathering of a smal donative, rather than a tithe [L. decumae], he [sc. Camillus] said nothing of it.
1700 C. Leslie Ess. Divine Right Tythes xviii. 189 The Jews were obliged to Pay another Tythe of Charity to the Poor... And this latter sort of Tythe no Man was obliged to Pay to Any who was not Poorer than Himself.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) II. xi. 64 To defray the expense of these and his other undertakings, he [sc. Pisistratus] laid a tithe on the produce of the land.
1871 W. H. Dixon Tower III. xiii. 129 The admirals took tithe on every ship and cargo seized at sea.
1982 Cineaste 11 12/2 The studio bosses..took a tithe from everyone's salary for the Republican candidate.
2006 Spectator (Nexis) 1 Apr. 44 God knows how any spices ever reached Europe if every warlord en route took his tithe.
2. A tenth part (of anything); = tenth n. 1. Now chiefly hyperbolically: a very small part.Sometimes, esp. in later use, coloured by sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun] > a tenth
tenth part (deal, dole)854
tithingc1300
teindc1330
tithelingc1390
tentha1400
tithe?a1475
denary1577
decimal1610
point1616
decima1631
decimate1676
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a small part or proportion
particlea1400
pittancec1400
moiety1594
cantling1674
morceau1755
decimal1758
tithe1852
particule1889
?a1475 in C. D. Eckhardt Prophetia Merlini (1982) 77 Merlyn seid..that..þe tithe of Normandie schal hurt him soore... And he said sooth. For william..came into Englond but with euery x.te man of Normandie. to a venge him.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccix. f. cxxx He slewe alway .ix. and saued the .x. And yet..He eft agayne tythed agayne the sayd Tythe, & slewe euery tenth knyght of theym.
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. **3v No Colledge in the Towne, was able to compare with the tythe of her Students.
1649 J. Milton Observations in Articles of Peace with Irish Rebels 61 These illiterat denouncers never parallelled so much of any age as would contribute to the tithe of a Century.
1698 M. Lister Journey to Paris 5 I believe I did not see the Tithe of what deserves to be seen.
1772 J. Wilkes Let. 5 Aug. in Corr. (1805) IV. 107 A little parish church, with about a tythe of the people, who frequent our chapel.
1820 W. Scott Let. 22 Feb. (1934) VI. 137 I owe much more to his fathers memory than ever I can pay a tithe of.
1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. 45 The tithe of the spoil was forty talents of silver.
1852 W. Hamilton Discuss. Philos. & Lit. 341 A tythe of the agitation.
1928 E. Garnett in J. Conrad Lett. Introd. 1 My own memory certainly did not retain a tithe of the details which the letters set down.
1954 G. Elton Gen. Gordon xii. 378 The military authorities, none of whom had a tithe of Gordon's knowledge of conditions in the Sudan.
2018 Private Eye 15 June 35/2 Tom Wolfe, whose passing a week before Roth rated approximately a tithe of the coverage.
Compounds
C1. attributive.
a. With the sense ‘due or paid as tithe’.See also tithe pig n.
ΚΠ
1455–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. July 1455 §47. m. 11 In recompense for the tithe veneson in the forest of Wyndesore.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 318 Nicholas Iordan..paid..for the tythe hey, ij. d. obolus.
1537 Surv. Cockersand Abbey (P.R.O.: DL 43/5/6) f. 1v Tithe woll & lambe whittage with other tithes there vsed to be paid at Ester.
1555 W. Turner New Bk. Spirituall Physik f. 50v Wyth muche shame, they come wyth tythe pygges by theyr tayles, wyth tythe egges, and tythe hemp and flaxe.
1609 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 334 All the Tythe Grain, Hay, Wooll and Lamb.
1687 True Relation Thunder at Alvanley 3 The Tythe-Corn of the Town..the Morning after the Storm, none would have given 1 l. for it.
1743 J. Martin Let. 23 Jan. in T. Secker Corr. (1991) 98 Whether..the Ecclesiastical Court, cannot oblige a dishonest Tenant..to pay the Minister his Tithe-mony.
1765 Museum Rusticum 3 li. 224 Let him by no means attempt to buy tythe barley, for that he is sure is mixed.
1808 S. Toller Treat. Law Tithes v. 152 The court declared tithe-ore is not due of common right, but by particular custom only.
1864 Hull Packet & E. Riding Times 8 Apr. 7/4 He received certain tithe rents amounting to £52.
1904 Antiquary July 222/2 The collecting of the tithe corn in kind.
1950 Manch. Guardian 14 Nov. 5/6 He assisted his wife to card and spin the tithe wool.
2009 Star-News (Wilmington, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 5 Sept. 6 b Some simple ways to prevent church robberies, including not counting tithe money at the church.
b. With the sense ‘of or relating to tithes’.Earliest in tithe right n. at Compounds 3. See also tithe barn n., titheman n., tithe proctor n.
ΚΠ
1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Piij How warlyke..the good vicares can strive for theyr tytherightis.
1657 J. Watts Scribe, Pharisee 157 Forced to pay the same unto Tythe-publicanes and Tol-gatherers.
1667 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 24 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 The said Henry kept tyth bonds soe long by him that the debitors became insolvent.
1736 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 699 (running title) Debate concerning the Quakers Tythe-Bill.
1781 J. Woodforde Diary 4 Dec. (1924) I. 333 I asked them to dine with us..this day being my Tithe Audit.
1852 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation (ed. 2) ii. iv. 185 The limitation of the tithe-charge.
1925 Manch. Guardian 4 Mar. 13/3 The question of tithe redemption..and the effect of redemption on the occupier of agricultural land.
1958 Country Life 27 Nov. 1255/2 There is only a little tithe charge remaining on my farm.
2012 P. Slavin in J. T. Rosenthal Understanding Medieval Primary Sources ix. 131 Tithe accounts indicate how much the peasants produced and how much the lords received.
C2.
a. Objective, as tithe giving, tithe taking, etc.
ΚΠ
?1532 C. St. German Treat. Diuision Spirytualtie & Temporaltie x. f. 26v It is but in few places that any seruaunte shall goo quite without som tithe payeng.
1612 W. Sclater Ministers Portion 12 A tithe taker..of whom its testified that he liues, is greater then a tithe taker that dyeth.
1647 Husbandmans Plea against Tithes 33 Calves, milk, lambe..and all other things that the Tithemongers will have to be titheable.
1680 T. Lawson Treat. relating to Call, Work & Wages Ministers of Christ v. 67 The Depraved and Mis-led Saxons..were brought to account Tythe-giving, to be the Souls Ransom.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 112. ¶7 The 'Squire has made all his Tenants Atheists and Tithe-Stealers.
1785 W. Paley Princ. Moral & Polit. Philos. vi. xi. 636 This commutation..might..secure to the tithe-holder a complete and perpetual equivalent for his interest.
1877 S. R. Gardiner Personal Govt. Charles I I. vii. 362 Three commissioners who had come to England..on behalf of the tithe-holding nobility.
1888 Observer 11 Mar. 7/4 In the opinion of this meeting, the Tithe Bill of the last Session was drafted entirely in favour of the tithe owner.
2016 J. Kerrigan Shakespeare's Binding Lang. vi. 157 Was tithe-taking a form of usury?
b.
tithe payer n.
ΚΠ
1613 F. Robartes Revenue of Gospel iv. 20 Leui himselfe was a tythe-payer.
1779 H. Portsmouth Ess. Simplicity of Truth 79 Their spiritual censure, against a poor tithe-payer, for his unchristian practice.
1880 Harper's Mag. June 124/1 Bringing over ocean woes to men of settlement, good tithe-payers.
1989 O. S. Card Prentice Alvin i. 2 Cavil Planter was a godly man, a church-going man, a tithepayer.
2015 Salt Lake Tribune (Nexis) 27 Nov. The LDS Church..would have been compelled to release the names of all of its tithe payers.
tithe paying n.
ΚΠ
?1532 C. St. German Treat. Diuision Spirytualtie & Temporaltie x. f. 26v It is but in few places that any seruaunte shall goo quite without som tithe payeng.
1621 R. Montagu Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 185 In the matter of Tithe-paying vnto the Priests of the Gospell.
1703 R. Wake Priest's Complaint 26 Tithe-paying is as much the Duty of us Christians as any other in the whole Book of God.
1823 G. Ensor Poor & their Relief v. ii. 269 The present Archbishop of Armagh..instilled into his pastoral hearers the advantages of tithe-paying to people and country.
1918 Missionary Voice June 182/1 All the teachings of the New Testament on giving are in harmony with tithe-paying.
2011 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Tribune (Nexis) 2 Oct. 1 c Temples are closed on Sundays and open only to church members considered worthy—a designation achieved through tithe paying [etc.].
C3. † tithe-haling n. [haling n.] Obsolete rare the action of taking away goods as tithe.
tithe agistment n. now historical a tithe paid to the vicar or rector of a parish by the person occupying land (and not by the person whose livestock is pastured there on agistment); = agistment tithe n. at agistment n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1736 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 169/2 To oppose all Attempts..to carry Demands of Tythe Agistment into Execution.
1834 E. Parsons Misc. Hist. Manufacturing District Yorks. I. i. ii. 151 One penny for the tithe agistment of one dry and unprofitable cow.
1954 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Dec. 823/2 He opposed the proposal for tithe agistment.
2000 C. Caffentzis Exciting Industry Mankind ii. 115 The Anglican landlords' resistance to the tithe agistment.
tithe book n. a book containing a record of tithes due or paid.
ΚΠ
1693 Rector of Whitechappels Answer (single sheet) The Old Decimaries and Tythe Books of the said Parish.
1808 S. Toller Treat. Law Tithes ix. 237 It also appeared by ancient tithe-books of the parson.
1906 Trans. Essex Hist. Soc. 9 251 Further evidence..is derived from the tithe books, which are still extant.
2014 S. A. Raymond Tracing your Ancestors' Parish Rec. (2015) vii. 145 Wymondham..has a unique collection of tithe books, extending from 1640 through to 1836.
tithe campaign n. a struggle or conflict arising from resistance to the payment of tithes; cf. tithe war n.
ΚΠ
1832 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 10 Feb. It would cost at least four millions annually to garrison Ireland for a tithe campaign.
2003 A. Howkins Death Rural Eng. ii. iv. 75 Henry Williamson..saw in the farmers, and in the tithe campaign, the basis of a rural, and peculiarly British fascisti.
tithe collector n. an agent for the collection of tithes and other church dues.
ΚΠ
1773 Let. to Right Honourable J——n L——d A——y 8 It is true that both the agent, and the tithe-collector, will become subject to the odium of the people.
1888 Justice of Peace 14 Jan. 27/3 The tithe collector..alleges that his charge is against the land.
1945 Agric. Hist. 19 137/1 Conflicts broke out between the sowers of clover and lucerne and the tithe collectors.
2012 Irish Times (Nexis) 25 Aug. 6 Violent attacks on landlords, agents, tithe collectors, and middlemen.
tithe commission n. a board appointed to investigate matters relating to the tithe system; spec. that established in association with the Tithe Commutation Act (1836).
ΚΠ
1824 Morning Post 3 Apr. A Petition from the parish of Kilkenny..praying that the Tithe Commission Act might be repealed.
1832 Leicester Chron. 14 July He proposed to introduce three bills: the first to render the tithe commission compulsory and permanent.
2012 D. Annal Easy Family Hist. (ed. 2) x. 125 The vast series of maps created by the Tithe Commission, which began work in 1836.
tithe commutation n. the commutation of tithes paid in kind for money payments; a money payment of this kind.All tithes in England and Wales were commuted to rentcharges by the Tithe Commutation Act (1836).
ΚΠ
1794 Plan Commutation of Tythes 48 The sum which may be raised to pay the whole amount of tithe commutation.
1839 Dublin Rev. May 479 This conversion of the tenure..to be made compulsory, on the same principle as the tithe commutation in England.
1950 W. Moberly Universities Anc. & Mod. 20 The University petitioned against..the tithe commutation.
2007 Church Times 7 Dec. 22/2 The legal and practical complications of tithe commutation and rentcharge.
tithe dinner n. now historical an annual dinner held by the parson for the tithe payers of his parish.
ΚΠ
1788 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 356/1 Mr Jenner had been out at a tithe-dinner.
1878 F. Kilvert Jrnl. 5 Feb. (1977) 302 Today was the Tithe audit and tithe dinner to the farmers, both held at the Vicarage.
1904 Berks., Bucks. & Oxon Archæol. Jrnl. 10 10 The old tithe barn, in which the time-honoured tithe dinner was held every year when the tithes were collected.
2005 K. Olsen Cooking with Jane Austen vii. 136 At his annual tithe dinners,..he traditionally served boiled rabbit and onion along with the beef, mutton, and puddings.
tithe-farmer n. a tithe collector (cf. farmer n.2 1a).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [noun] > tithe > collector of
proctorc1425
tithe gatherer1591
tither1591
tithing man1618
titheman1645
decimator1660
tithe-farmer1677
tithe proctor1767
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. i. sig. *Cc2/3 Fermier de dîmes, a Tithe-Farmer.
1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) I. 217 These tythe farmers are a bad set of people.
2016 T. Lange Excommun. for Debt in Late Medieval France ii. 76 The collection of tithes was often leased to entrepreneurial tithe-farmers, who paid a variable but predetermined lease to the tithe-holder, pocketing what was ideally a surplus.
tithe-free adj. not subject to tithe.
ΚΠ
1604 I. R. Epitaph on Death Arch-byshop of Canterburie sig. A3v Intreate and sue, that no Land goe Tyth free.
1720 London Gaz. No. 5829/3 An Estate.., well wooded, and Tythe-free.
1834 Edinb. Rev. July 404 There is a large extent of England tithe-free.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 29 Mar. 31/3 Gentleman's tithe-free residential farm.
2013 Jrnl. County Louth Archaeol. & Hist. Soc. 28 63 Twenty acres of tithe-free lands at Plaster.
tithe gatherer n. a tithe collector.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [noun] > tithe > collector of
proctorc1425
tithe gatherer1591
tither1591
tithing man1618
titheman1645
decimator1660
tithe-farmer1677
tithe proctor1767
1591 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 66 Spente by the tythe getherares, vd.
1678 T. Atkinson Christians Testimony against Tythes 6 One George Rigg his Tythe gatherer, a man of no good repute.
1792 A. Young Trav. France ii. xiv. 433 When the state..permits the cultivators to become the prey of a tythe-gatherer, or loads them with the support of the poor.
1877 Fortn. Rev. Apr. 596 All the produce of the poor people..became the property of the tithe-gatherer.
1999 A. Wood Politics of Social Confl. x. 232 The miners responded..by assaulting the tithe gatherers.
ΚΠ
1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xlviii. 386 The Edecimation and Tith-haling of their Goods.
tithe map n. a map showing the ownership of land for tithe collecting purposes; esp. one drawn up in response to the Tithe Commutation Act (1836).
ΚΠ
1843 Essex Standard 30 June He had always understood the chapel to be in the parish of Laindon, and it so appeared in the tithe map of the parish.
1910 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 119 The tithe maps constructed on all sorts of scales.
2010 National Trust Mag. Spring 77/2 Old tithe maps..may give you the names of old long-gone tracks.
tithe owner n. a person holding the right to tithes; a person to whom tithes are due.
ΚΠ
1741 T. Hayter Exam. Bk. Quakers Diocese of York 36 The Tythe-Owners could not support their Right.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 468 The tithe-owner refused three guineas per acre for the tithe of the barley.
1986 O. Rackham Hist. Countryside viii. 165 One-tenth of the crop of each strip was due as tithe to the tithe-owner of one of the dozen ecclesiastical parishes into which Cambridge was divided.
2011 C. Cordle Out of Hay & into Hops vi. 127 Decisions..about their [sc. hops and other crops] collection by, or despatch to, the tithe owners.
tithe proprietor n. a person holding the right to tithes; a tithe owner.
ΚΠ
1773 St. James's Chron. 11 May The Tenth Part is disposed of by the Tithe Proprietor instead of the Farmer.
1863 H. Fawcett Man. Polit. Econ. iv. iv. 578 It is quite possible that tithe-proprietors may be ultimately injured by this commutation.
1997 Hist. Jrnl. 40 29 One-tenth of the miners' production was claimed by the church and tithe proprietors in most of the parishes in the lead field.
tithe rentcharge n. Law (now historical) a payment made as a rentcharge (rentcharge n. 1).All tithes in England and Wales were commuted to rentcharges by the Tithe Commutation Act (1836).
ΚΠ
1836 Standard 23 Mar. A tithe rent-charge calculated upon high cultivation.
1918 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 81 402 The case of tithe rent charge is peculiar because the rates are payable by the owner..of the land out of which it issues.
2008 R. Neild Financial Hist. Trinity Coll., Cambr. iv. 105 The college received £400,000 of government securities in compensation for the ending of tithe rentcharges.
tithe right n. the right to collect or levy tithes.
ΚΠ
1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Piij How warlyke..the good vicares can strive for theyr tytherightis.
1781 W. Ogilvie Ess. Right of Prop. in Land i. iii. 45 The bad effects of a tithe right must be acknowledged.
1830 Times 18 Dec. The conflicting tithe-rights of the rector and vicar of the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath.
1917 E. Carpenter Towards Industr. Freedom vii. 119 Certain manorial and tithe rights were remitted as a kind of compensation.
2012 J. Eldevik Episcopal Power & Eccl. Reform in German Empire 17 Bishops could..use their traditional prerogatives to pass tithe rights along to lay or monastic allies as a way of affirming friendships and alliances.
tithe system n. the system of supporting the church and clergy by means of tithes.
ΚΠ
1787 D. Trant Considerations Present Disturbances Munster 63 On what ground do those arguments rest which have been urged for the annihilation of the tythe system on an assumption of crying abuses and enormous exactions on the part of the clergy?
1890 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 1 Mar. 2/4 The French-Canadians are beginning to rebel against the tithe system, which..takes a large portion of the farmers' products.
1993 Telegram & Gaz. (Worcester, Mass.) (Electronic ed.) 8 Mar. b2 The Seventh-day Adventist Church is supported by a tithe system.
2014 Irish Independent (Nexis) 31 Oct. 6 The tithe system only supported the Church of Ireland.
tithe war n. a struggle or conflict arising from resistance to the payment of tithes; spec. that which took place in Ireland in the 1830s.
ΚΠ
1822 Evans & Ruffy's Farmers Jrnl. 1 July 205/1 A case which could produce nothing less than a tithe war in any parish.
1979 V. Bogdanor Devolution v. 123 The ‘tithe war’, under which tithes were withheld.
2012 R. Killeen Brief Hist. Ireland xv. 174 The ‘Tithe War’ started in Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, in October 1830.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† titheadj.
Obsolete.
Designating a person to whom a concession or grant is made; successful in making a request or plea.In Old English in predicative use with be and complement in the genitive in sense ‘to be granted the request for the thing specified by the genitive’.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxx. 372 Se biscop..sona wæs in gaste gelæred, þæt he wæs from Dryhtne tigða þære bene, ðe he bæd [L. impetrasse se quod petebat].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 22 Ealles þæs þe ge biddað ge beoð tiþa gyf ge gelyfað.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. x. 79 Efne swa he his bæd, swa he wæs tyðe.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 28 Swa hwæt swa ðu to gode ȝyrnende bist þu bist tyðæ.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† tithev.1
Obsolete.
1. transitive. To grant, bestow, or concede; to allow, permit; to give (something) to (someone).In Old English chiefly with genitive of the thing granted and dative of person; in quot. eOE2 with accusative of person.In quots. eOE1, c1325 apparently with ellipsis of object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > give [verb (transitive)] > grant or allow to have
lenda900
unneeOE
titheeOE
i-unneeOE
reachOE
aleneOE
yatea1122
yielda1225
grant1297
vouchsafe1303
agrauntea1400
octroy1480
vouchsafe1587
beteem1600
stretch1711
accordc1820
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) vi. xxxiv. 153 Þa oferho[go]de he þæt he him aðer dyde, oþþe wiernde, oþþe tigþade.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xv. 220 Ne hine mon on oðre wisan his bene tygþian wolde, nemne he Cristes geleafan onfenge.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) vii. 65 Ic wæs nacod, nolde ge me wæda tiðian.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5365 Forr all þatt æfre ned uss iss All godess gast uss tiþeþþ.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 135 God haueð herd þine bede and tiðed te bene.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 23 Nawt ne þohte þeron, þat hire nu were ituðet hire bone.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 2474 Ac o þing icholde bidde þe ȝif þou me woldest tiþe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10966 Drightin has þe tid [Gött. tidd] þi bon.
c1480 (a1400) St. George 829 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 200 Þat god his askine had hyme tyde for þaim þat hyme worchy[p] dyde.
2. transitive. To yield to (instruction, advice, temptation, etc.). rare.With dative object.
ΚΠ
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 89 (MED) Ðo ilche ðohtes ðe cumeð of ðe dieule, æure hie bieð bitere, bute ȝif ðu teiðest his swikele meneȝinge.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 135 (MED) Ðanne ðe cumð a michel lust after ane þinge, ne teiþe þu him naht anoan.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
tithev.2
/tʌɪð/, U.S. /taɪð/α. early Old English tiogoðian, Old English tægþian (Mercian), Old English tegðia (Northumbrian), Old English teigðia (Northumbrian), early Middle English teoheðe, early Middle English theheþe, early Middle English tiheðe, Middle English tiþe, Middle English tyde, Middle English tyth, Middle English tyþe, Middle English–1800s tythe, Middle English– tithe, 1500s tieth, 1500s–1600s tith.
β. Old English teoþian, Old English teoðian, early Middle English itouðet (past participle), early Middle English teoþegen, early Middle English teouðe, early Middle English teþege, early Middle English teðie, early Middle English theoþe, Middle English teothe, Middle English tethe, Middle English teþe, Middle English teythe, Middle English teyþe, Middle English ytueþed (past participle), late Middle English taythe (in a late copy), 1500s teethe, 1600s teath (Scottish); N.E.D (1912) also records forms Middle English teith, Middle English teithe, Middle English teoþe.
γ. Perhaps transmission errors Middle English teiȝe, Middle English tiȝe, Middle English tyȝe.
I. To pay one tenth of one's produce, earnings, etc., and related senses.
1.
a. transitive. To grant or pay one tenth of (one's produce, earnings, etc.), esp. to the support of the church and clergy; to pay tithes on (one's produce, land, etc.).See also to tithe mint anise and cumin at Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [verb (transitive)] > pay tithe of or on
titheOE
titheOE
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxviii. 250 Ic fæste twegen dagas on ðære wucan, and ic teoðie ealle mine æhta.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 42 Wa eow Fariseum ge þe teoþiað [L. decimatis] mintan & rudan, & ælce wyrte.
OE Homily: Sermo ad Populum Dominicis Diebus (Lamb. 489) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 297 Gif ge nellað teoðian ælc þæra þinga, þe eow god lænð,..and to godes cyrcan hit getrywelice bringan.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 5263 Þe king þer after..teþegede wel al is lond as hii aȝte wel ynou.
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 342 (MED) Hose wol not tiþe Þat god him haþ I-lent, His lyf and his soule Boþe schul be schent.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 898 Tyþeth weyl alle ȝoure þynges.
a1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Digby) xxxv. 119 Þan shulde þe mayster of þe game begynne at one rowe..and tyth [c1425 Vesp. tithe] alle þe deere reght as þei ligge rascayle and oþer and delyuere it to þe procuratoures.
1562 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 138 The maner of tiething pigge and gose is, yf one have vijth, to pay one.
a1641 H. Spelman Tithes too Hot to be Touched (1646) xvi. 81 Military spoil, and the prey gotten in war is also tithable, for Abraham tithed it to Melchisedek.
1690 H. Waring Rule of Charity 57 They were injoyn'd every Third Year, To Tythe the encrease of their Lands a Second Time, for Charitable Uses, (after they had Tythed it once for the maintenance of the Clergy).
1751 S. Whatley England's Gazetteer at Rye, (Kent) A peculiar way of tithing their marsh-lands; whereby they pay only 3d. per acre to the rector, while in pasture, but, if ploughed, 5s.
1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity II. x. 265 Ethelwolf tithed the kingdom of England.
1838 New Jerusalem Mag. Oct. 44 The poor widow who tithes her little income.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. i. iv. 63 Serio-comic questions as to whether in tithing the seed it was obligatory also to tithe the stalk.
1949 Taylor (Texas) Daily Press 17 July 4/5 Those who are able to farm tithe their produce for the ill and crippled.
2014 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 5 Sept. 14 He also joined the Church of God,..to which he began to tithe his income by mail.
b. transitive. To pay or give (one tenth of one's produce, earnings, etc.) as tithe; (more generally) to pledge or contribute as a levy.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [verb (transitive)] > pay tithe of or on
titheOE
titheOE
society > faith > worship > benefice > other financial matters > [verb (transitive)] > impose tithe > pay tithe
titheOE
OE Royal Charter: Æðelwulf to Old Minster, Winchester (Sawyer 313) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 14 He teoðode gynd eall his cynerice ðone teoðan dæl ealra his landa..into halgun stowun Gode to lofe.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xiv. l. 84 None tythes to tythen [c1400 Digby tethegen].
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 31 The best schep..þat I kan se I tythe it to god of gret mercy.
1539 Bible (Great) Deut. xxvi. f. lxxx/1 When thou hast made an ende of tythinge all the tythes of thyne encrease.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) iv. 510 These slaves are either the sonnes of Christians, tithed in their childhoods, Captives taken in the warres, or Renegadoes.
1696 N. Spinckes Of Trust in God v. 191 His Ground should yeild him but nine hundred Measures, being just the quantity he had tithed for the Year before.
1881 N.-Y. Evangelist 31 Mar. 5/2 He tithed a tenth part of his small income.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 6- c/1 Former Southern officers prospered and tithed up to 50 percent for Civil War II, which never came.
2000 M. Fletcher Silver Linings (2001) v. 98 Dr Paisley's Free Presbyterians ‘tithed’ 10 per cent of their income, and whatever else they could spare.
c. intransitive. To pay tithes; (later also, with reference to certain religious denominations) to pledge or contribute one tenth of one's income to the church. Also more generally: to make a donation or contribution.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > benefice > other financial matters > [verb (intransitive)] > pay tithe
titheOE
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [verb (intransitive)] > pay tithes
titheOE
teindc1375
OE Laws of Æðelred II (Corpus Cambr. 201) viia. v. 262 Hiredmanna gehwilc sille pænig to ælmessan..; & heafodmen teoðian.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 215 Þe prest þe meneȝeð rihtliche teðien.
a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 77 If he..theoþe [?a1300 Digby 86 teþege] ryht vnder his honde, To heouene he cume myhte.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. viii. l. 65 Laborers..þat treuliche..tiþen [c1400 Trin. Cambr. R.3.14 wynnen].
c1400 ( Canticum Creatione l. 482 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 130 Kaym..tyþede of þe worste þynge, And Abel of his beste.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 349 They schule teythe welle & trewe.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 758/2 He must nedes go forwarde for he doth tythe well.
1606 S. Gardiner Bk. Angling 93 He was not displeased that the Pharisee..should tythe rightly.
1682 T. Comber Hist. Vindic. Divine Right Tithes ii. 27 They were..not to Tithe in the Ceremonial manner.
1717 M. Hole Pract. Disc. Communion Service xiii. 111 A proverbial saying, Tithe well, and thrive well.
1882 N.-Y. Evangelist 4 May 2/1 Suppose the families of our Zion should tithe during the next twenty years.
1942 Esquire Sept. 174/2 They went to the Six Hickories church—tithed—and behaved themselves.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 23 Aug. a12/4 In the old days, the requests for political giving went mainly to your clients' political action committees. Now health care lobbyists have to tithe personally.
2. † b. transitive. To collect or exact one tenth from (goods, produce, livestock, etc.) by way of tithe. Obsolete.† c. intransitive. To collect or exact a tithe. Obsolete. rare.In quot. 1822 in extended use as an echo of quot. a1616.
a. transitive. To collect or exact a tithe from (a person); (more generally) to exact a payment from. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > benefice > other financial matters > [verb (transitive)] > impose tithe
tithe?c1225
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [verb (transitive)] > exact tithe of > exact tithe from
tithe?c1225
decimate1606
addecimate1623
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 25 Me seolf toward þe wat sebeo of oðer hwat vntreoweliche itouðet [Scribe B iteoheðet].
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. vii. 9 Leeuy, that took tithis, is tithid [L. decimatus].
1546 J. Bale Actes Eng. Votaryes: 1st Pt. f. 74 As he and hys monkes were able to geue no more moneye they tythed them after thys sort.
1582 Bible (Rheims) Heb. vii. 9 Leui also, which receiued tithes, was tithed.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Heb. vii. 6) 372 Melchisedech did not only take that which Abraham was pleased to give him, but he tithed him, saith the text, he took the tenths, as his due.
1680 J. Owen Contin. Expos. Epist. Paul 131 The Priests Tithed the whole People in that Tenth of all which they received of the Levites.
1739 Case King Jehoshpahat 19 He did not exercise the Power of tithing the People as he did of blessing.
1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet III. xi. 212 The cost..has been defrayed by tithing the whole Mormon Church. Those who reside at Nauvoo..have been obliged to work every tenth day in quarrying stone.
1926 North-China Herald 2 Oct. 6/2 They are capitalists and..as such they are going to be more heavily tithed than Wu Pei-fu ever tithed them, in the interest of the cause.
1997 Washington Post 25 Sept. c8/2 He was tithing them—$50,000 from one, and so on.
2008 Jewish News (New Jersey) (Electronic ed.) 3 July 5 The first funds came from Prospect Presbyterian Church in Maplewood, which tithed its members to provide $33,000 in seed money.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > fixed proportion dues or taxes > [verb (transitive)] > exact tithe of
tithea1382
dime1483
teind1483
tenth1647
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings viii. 15 Ȝoure cornys & þe rentis of vynes he schal tiþen [L. addecimabit].
1591 Troublesome Raigne Iohn i. sig. G The Monkes the Priors and holy cloystred Nunnes, Are all in health,..Till I had tythde and tolde their holy hoords.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 26 When the parson or Procter commeth to tythe his wooll.
1655 A. Symson Wilson's Compl. Christian Dict. (rev. ed.) 221/2 It [sc. Frankincense] being brought in at one gate into the City, must at the same be carryed out, and not sold to Merchants til tythed by their Priests.
1798 H. Wood Coll. Decrees Court Exchequer in Tithe-causes III. 279 The defendant..told him, that his tithing man had tithed them [sc. haycocks] unequally.
1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1050 The subject matter was not in a proper state to be tithed, until it came into grass cocks.
1844 J. H. Dixon in A. Whitelaw Bk. Sc. Ballads App. 572 Auld Gaffer Featherstone's pigs i' the stye—The priest canna claim them, or tythe them of richt.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 80 No Italian Priest Shall tythe or toll in our dominions.
1822 T. L. Peacock Maid Marian vi. 91 Those who tithe and toll upon them for their spiritual and temporal benefit.
3.
a. transitive. To take every tenth thing or person from (the whole number or quantity); to take one tenth of; to divide into tenths. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [verb (transitive)] > select every tenth
titheOE
to tithe out1538
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xi. 273 Gif we teoðiað þas gearlican dagas, þonne beoð þær six & þrittig teoðincgdagas.
1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry v. sig. K3 But tythe our gallants,..and you will finde, In euery ten, one: peraduenture two, That smell ranke of the dancing schoole, or fiddle.
1698 Spelman's Hist. Sacrilege 67 Coming to a Desart of Sand, divers of them were constrained to tithe themselves, and eat the tenth Man.
b. transitive. To reduce (a group of people) to one tenth of its original number by killing nine in every ten. Obsolete.In quots. chiefly with reference to the sack of Canterbury by the Danes in 1011.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > execute [verb (transitive)] > nine out of ten
tithec1400
the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] > specific
tithec1400
c1400 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Tiber.) (2004) vi. xxi. 130 Of þe Normans þat were ybroȝt vorþ he slouȝ alwey nyne & kepte þe teþe. And ȝet hym þoȝte þat þe teþynge were to meny yleft & teþede [L. decimari fecit] eft þe teþy[nge] in þis manere.
c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 89 Þe folk of Crist was tiþed [L. decimatur], þat is to seie, nyne slayn and þe tenþe i-kepte.
?a1475 in C. D. Eckhardt Prophetia Merlini (1982) 78 (MED) Þe releff of his generacion schall be tythid..For ther regned sith the conquest nor dane nor saxon but that william conquerour did hem slee euerich oon except the xte man.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxxxxix. f. cxxi The Monkes of seynt Augustynes Abbey they tythed, that is to meane They slewe .ix. by cruell turment, and ye tenth they kepte a lyue.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 246/1 in Chron. I They tithed the people after an inuerted order, slaying the whole nines through the whole multitude, and reserued the tenth.
1601 F. Godwin Catal. Bishops of Eng. 23 The monks and people thereof [i.e. of Canterbury], men, women and children they tithed, putting nine to the sword, and letting go a tenth onely.
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. vi. 256 The multitude are tith'd, and every tenth only spar'd.
c. transitive. To select by lot and put to death one in every ten of (a body of soldiers). Also in rhetorical or hyperbolical use: to reduce drastically or severely, to devastate. Cf. decimate v. 1a, 1c. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > execute [verb (transitive)] > one in ten or decimate
tithe1583
decimate1591
tenth1598
the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] > one in ten
tithe1583
decimate1626
1583 A. Marten in tr. P. M. Vermigli Common Places Table sig. Ss3/3 A Custome of tything soldiers in a case of offence.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 705 Keeping aliue..two principall persons, that they might be tithed [L. decimarentur] with the soldiors. For, every tenth man of the Normans they chose out by lot, to be executed.
1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iii. 146 These proud rocks..Which yer you scale undoubtedly will cost Ladders of Bodies; and even Tythe your Hoast.
1650 R. Gentilis tr. V. Malvezzi Considerations Lives Alcibiades & Corialanus 185 Whole Armies have bin tithed, putting each tenth man to death, for faults which have bin committed in them.
4. transitive. to tithe out: to select by lot (every tenth person or thing) from a group. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [verb (transitive)] > select every tenth
titheOE
to tithe out1538
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Exdecimo,..to tythe out.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum xxxii. 759 If a whole band or companie of souldiers had run away,..the Emperour would tithe them out, and put euerie tenth man..to death.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage v. iii. 391 Which Armie..he [sc. the King of Brama] tythed out of his people, taking one onely of tenne.
1645 W. Greenhill Expos. Five First Chapters Ezekiel (iv. 16) 410 His [sc. Cambyses'] army was in such a strait for victualls, that they were forc'd to tithe out every tenth man, and to live upon them.
5. transitive. To amount to one tenth of. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [verb (transitive)] > form tenth part of
tithe1586
1586 W. Warner Albions Eng. i. v. 15 Her sorrowes did not tith her ioy.
Phrases
to tithe mint anise (also dill) and cumin and variants: to be very or ostentatiously scrupulous about minor details while neglecting more important responsibilities.As a translation of, or allusion to, Matthew 23:23: ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.’ (King James Bible). See also Luke 11:42, ‘ye tythe Mint and Rue, and all maner of herbes’ (King James Bible), with which cf. quot. 1888.
ΚΠ
OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xxiii. 23 Uae uobis scribae & farissæi hippochritæ qui decimatis mentam & annetum & cimminum : wa eow bokeras & fariseas liceteras forþon ge þe tægþigaþ [OE Lindisf. Gospels getegðeges] mintæ & dile & cymen.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxiii. 23 Ge þe teoðiað mintan & dile & cvmyn [altered from cymyn].
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 45 (MED) Wo worþ ȝow þat tiȝen mynt, aneis, and comyn, and ilke herbe, and leuen þe sadder þings of þe lawe, dome, feiþ, and mercy.
1566 Answere for Tyme 148 Those prudent and chairie ouerseers which tythe mint and anice.
1659 R. Gell Ess. Amendm. Transl. Bible 519 Let them read our Lords words judiciously. Ye tithe Mint and Dill and Cummin, and omit the more weighty things of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.
1673 J. Faldo Quakerism No Christianity (new ed.) iii. 91 I love not to tythe Mint, Annis and Cummin, where weightier matters call forth my thoughts.
1712 J. Gardiner Pract. Expos. Beatitudes vi. 156 Nor must we content our selves with Tithing Mint, Anise and Cummin, being very exact in the..less substantial Parts of our Duty.
1888 Women's Penny Paper 10 Nov. 3/1 Men have always tithed mint and rue and cummin in their exegesis and their ecclesiasticism.
1934 N.Y. Times 5 Sept. 20/7 They [sc. ministers of Christ] allow the weightier matters to be ignored while they tithe mint, anise and cummin.
2006 C. Buchanan Taking Long View vii. 97 The Canons in relation to liturgical worship strike me as the most classic instance of the Church of England tithing mint and anise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1eOE
n.2a1200adj.eOEv.1eOE
v.2OE