▪ I. tithe, a.1 and n.1
(taɪð)
Forms: α. 1 teoᵹoða, etc. (see tenth A. 1 α), 3 tiȝeðe, tiȝðe, 4 tyþe, 4–5 tiþe, (5–7 tyth, 6 tieth (thiethe), 6–7 tith, 7 tyethe), 4– tithe, tythe. β. 1 téoða, etc. (see tenth A. 1 β), 3 tēoþe, 3–4 tēþe, 5–6 tethe, (5 theth(e, 6 teyth).
[Early ME. tiȝeðe, tiȝðe, ME. tīþe, tȳþe = OE. teoᵹoþa, téoþa, forms of the numeral tenth, which as a n. acquired a specialized sense, in which this form has been retained, while the adj. has become tenth. For the general sense- and form-history see tenth A. 1 α, β, B. 1. Cf. also teind, the specialized northern form.]
A. adj. Tenth. † a. Of order: see tenth A. 1 α. Obs. b. Of a division or part; in ME. esp. in tithe deal. In modern use, since 16th c., app. taken anew from the n., B. 3.
| α c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 895 Habram ȝaf him ðe tiȝðe del Of alle [h]is biȝete. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 5429 Erl Does sone..Þe .ix. was..; Grifles so was tiþe, Wiȝt he was & noble swiþe. c 1350 Will. Palerne 5346 Ne þe tiþedel of hire atir to telle þe riȝt. c 1375 Tyþe [see tenth A. 3]. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 480 Persounes and prestes..þat han her wille here,..þe tithe del þat trewemen biswynkyn. c 1440 Jacob's Well 24 Alle þo þat ȝeuyn þe tythe scheef to þe reperys for here hyre, in takyng vp here cost for þe repyng, & ȝeuyn þe xj. scheef for þe tythe. |
| β 854–971 Teoða [see tenth A. 3]. 1297, 1387 Teþe [see tenth A. 2]. |
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 89 One good woman in ten Madam..: Weed finde no fault with the tithe woman. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. ii. ii. 19 Euery tythe soule 'mongst many thousand dismes, Hath bin as deere as Helen. a 1814 He must be married i. i. in New Brit. Theatre IV. 239 Why the veriest shrew..cannot muster a tythe part of the vagaries which abound in my composition. 1872 Westm. Rev. July 90 We have not space to follow Dr. Newman through a tithe part of his illustrations. |
B. n. Absolute use of
adj.:
cf. tenth B.
In
OE. the ordinal
téoða,
pl. téoðan, was so used: see
tenth B. 1 b.
1. The tenth part of the annual produce of agriculture, etc., being a due or payment (
orig. in kind) for the support of the priesthood, religious establishments, etc.;
spec. applied to that ordained by the Mosaic law, and to that introduced in conformity therewith in England and other Christian lands. (The latter sense appears first in
quots.) Also, in recent use, in certain religious denominations: a tenth part of an individual's income which is pledged to the church. (
Cf. tithe v.
2 1 b, 2.)
a. in
sing.| α c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 83 Hie giuen here tiȝeðe noht for to hauen heuene blisse, ac for to hauen here þe hereword of eorðliche richeise. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 19 He [Adelwolf] was first of Inglond, þat gaf God his tiþe. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 85 For of my Corn and Catel heo Craueþ þe Tiþe. a 1425 Cursor M. 1067 (Trin.) For þis tiþe [Laud tythe] þat þei delt, Caym..To his broþere ire bare. 1535 Coverdale Mal. iii. 10 Brynge euery Tythe in to my barne. 1551–2 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 394 Iohn Crovcher oweth.. The Tyth of his hovs. 1611 Bible Lev. xxvii. 30 And all the tithe of the land..is the Lords. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 185 It being vncertaine in it selfe, whether Abraham gaue or receiued Tithe. 1771 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 9 My father intending to devote me, as the tythe of his sons, to the church. 1831 Lincoln Herald 1 July 3/3 There were three heifers to be canted [sold by auction] for tithe. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. iv. (1852) 180 It will be seen that half the cultivated land of Great Britain is unaffected by tithe. 1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter (1892) 206 The last symptom of restiveness..manifested by the Jews related to the tythe. |
| β c 1450 Godstow Reg. 43 He grauntyd & gaf to the holy my[n]chons a-foreseyde tethe of hys too Millis of Sewekeworth [= Seacourt] in corne, money, & fysshes. |
b. chiefly in
pl., including the various amounts thus due or received.
| α c 1200 Vices & Virt. 139 Chierche-þinges, tiȝeþes, ne offrendes, ne almesses. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1628 Her ic sal offrendes here don And tiȝðes wel ȝelden her-up-on. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 313 We reden not where he took tyþes as we don. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 539 Hise tithes payde he ful faire and wel Bothe of his propre swynk and his catel. 1388 Wyclif Gen. xiv. 20 And Abram ȝaf tithis of alle thingis to hym [1382 And he ȝaue hym dymes of alle thingis]. 1483 Caxton Cato g j b, The tythes whyche they owen to God and the holy chyrche. 1547 in Richmond Wills (Surtees) 64, I give to the hye alter for oblited thiethes a newe altare clothe. 1651 R. Child in Hartlib's Legacy (1655) 23 The Tythes of wine in Glocestershire, was in divers Parishes considerably great. a 1660 Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) II. 36 A donation of all the tyethes and other casualties. 1764 Burn Poor Laws 2 The whole tithes of the diocese were then paid to the bishop. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke xi, His own tithes here aren't more than thirty pounds. 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 {pstlg}900 from tithes and {pstlg}200 from free-will offerings. |
| β a 1100 Teoþan [see tenth B. 1 b]. c 1440 Eng. Conq. Irel. 67 Euery crystyn man lawfully pay his thethis. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 46 Certen possessions, tethys, dewteys & othyr thynges. 1517 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 397 Every shippe..shall paye half tethes to the Colladge of all suche fishe as they shall take. |
c. Variously qualified:
agistment tithe,
t. of agistment, see
agistment 4;
coarse t. = great t.;
crying t., tithe of young live stock;
great t., the chief predial tithes, as corn, hay, wood, and fruit; also called
large t.;
mixed t., see
mixed ppl. a. 11, and
quots. there;
parochial t., ? small or vicarial tithes;
personal t., tithe of the produce of labour or occupation;
petty t.,
privy t. = small t.;
predial t., see
predial a. 2 b, and
quots. there;
rectorial t., tithes pertaining to the rector of the parish, the great tithes;
small t., such predial tithes as are not great tithes, together with the personal and mixed tithes;
vicarial t., tithes pertaining to the vicar of the parish, the small tithes.
| 1464 [see predial a. 2 b]. 1530, 1765 [see privy a. 8]. 1531, a 1634, 1672 [see mixed ppl. a. 11]. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. ii. lv. (1638) 169 Some..say there is no tith but it is either a prediall tith, or a personal tith. 1546 Yorks. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) 228 The sayd incumbent hathe..all offerynges and pety tythes. 1589 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 51 For the smale or pryve tythes of Hetton iij{supl} ijs vj{supd} ob. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes ii. 106 Though it be the practice in setting out of Personal Tithes to separate the Charges from the Profits..yet there was never any such thing in predial Tithes. 1718 in Shropsh. Parish Doc. (1903) 19 The Vicar hath also all small Tythes as Hemp, Flax, Geese, Eggs, Piggs, Fruit and the Like. 1793 Blackstone Comm. (ed. 12) I. xi. 387 The tithes of many things..are in some parishes rectorial, and in some vicarial tithes. 1813 T. N. Parker in Gentl. Mag. May 449/2 Aftermath (or a second mowing of a meadow in the same year) yields a great tithe, as turnips sown on a stubble yield a small tithe. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1197 The late vicar..made certain compositions with his parishioners for the vicarial tithes, which were payable on the 29th September. 1861 Miall Title Deeds Ch. Eng. (1862) 4 Parochial tithes constitute..the provision for the pecuniary support of the Church of England. 1862 Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 294 The Bishop of Lichfield..was Dean of Durham, and owner of the great tithes in the parish. 1889 Lipscomb in Land Agent's Record 6 Apr. 316 In parishes where the great or rectorial tithes remain devoted to the Church, we find a rector and a rectory. |
2. In more general sense: Any levy, tax, or tribute of one tenth.
Saladin tithe: see
Saladine tax (
Saladine a.).
| 1600 Holland Livy v. xxv. 196 As for the collation and gathering of a smal donative, rather than a tithe, he [Camillus] said nothing of it. 1838 Thirlwall Greece II. xi. 64 To defray the expense of these and his other undertakings, he [Pisistratus] laid a tithe on the produce of the land. 1871 Dixon Tower III. xiii. 129 The admirals took tithe on every ship and cargo seized at sea. |
3. A tenth part (of anything);
= tenth B. 1; now chiefly hyperbolical: a very small part.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. ccix. 223 He slewe alway .ix. and saued the .x. and yet..he eft agayne tythed agayne the sayd tythe, & slewe euery tenth knyght of theym. 1552 Huloet, Tythe or tenth part, decima. 1589 Nashe in Greene's Menaphon Pref. (Arb.) 11 No Colledge in the Towne was able to compare with the tythe of her Students. 1648 Milton Observ. Art Peace Wks. 1851 IV. 576 These illiterate denouncers never parallel'd so much of any Age as would contribute to the tithe of a Century. 1772 Wilkes Corr. (1805) IV. 107 A little parish church, with about a tythe of the people who frequent our chapel. 1836 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 341 A tythe of the agitation. 1838 Arnold Hist. Rome I. 45 The tithe of the spoil was forty talents of silver. 1848 Richter Levana 45 From a woodcut some thousand impressions may easily be taken; but from a copperplate only a tithe of that number. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xix, I cannot tell you a tithe of what he said. |
4. attrib. and
Comb. a. Due or paid as tithe. See also
tithe-pig.
| c 1450 Godstow Reg. 318 Nicholas Iordan..paid..for the tythe hey, ijd. ob. 1455 Rolls of Parlt. V. 307/2 In recompense for the tithe veneson in the Forest of Wyndesore. 1555 W. Turner Spir. Physic 50 b, Wyth muche shame, they come wyth tythe pygges by theyr tayles, wyth tythe egges, and tythe hemp and flaxe. 1609 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 334 All the Tythe Grain, Hay, Wooll and Lamb. 1765 Museum Rust. III. li. 224 Let him by no means attempt to buy tythe barley, for that he is sure is mixed. 1808 Toller Law of Tithes v. (1816) 152 Tithe-ore is not due of common right, but by particular custom only. |
b. Of or pertaining to tithes, as
tithe-accounts,
tithe-audit,
tithe-bill,
tithe-bond,
tithe-campaign,
tithe-charge,
tithe-claim,
tithe-commission,
tithe-dinner,
tithe-map,
tithe-monger,
tithe-proprietor,
tithe-publican,
tithe-right,
tithe-system,
tithe-war; objective, etc., as
tithe-collector,
tithe-commutation,
tithe-farmer,
tithe-gatherer,
tithe-giving,
tithe-haling,
tithe-holder,
tithe-owner,
tithe-payer,
tithe-paying,
tithe-redemption,
tithe-stealer,
tithe-taker;
tithe-free adj. See also
tithe-barn, -man, -proctor.
| 1781 J. Woodforde Diary 6 Nov. (1924) I. 329 Being obliged to go to Lenewade Bridge to settle Dr. Bathurst's *Tithe accounts. |
| Ibid. 4 Dec. 333, I asked them to dine with us..this day being my *Tithe Audit. 1878 F. Kilvert Jrnl. 5 Feb. (1977) 302 Today was the Tithe audit and tithe dinner to the farmers, both held at the Vicarage. About 50 tithe payers came. |
| 1736 Gentl. Mag. VI. 708 Debate concerning the Quakers *Tythe-Bill. |
| 1666 Ormonde MSS. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 24 The said Henry kept *tyth bonds soe long by him that the debitors became insolvent. |
| 1808 Toller Law of Tithes ix. (1816) 237 It also appeared by ancient *tithe-books of the parson. |
| 1832 Cobbett Weekly Reg. 21 Apr. 134 Look at the *tithe-campaign preparing for Ireland; the tithe-war, indeed. |
| 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. iv. (1852) 185 The limitation of the *tithe-charge. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Tithe-collector, a receiver of tithes. *Tithe-commissioner,..one of a board authorized to arrange propositions for commuting or compounding for tithes. |
| 1859 J. W. Rosse Index of Dates, *Tithe Commutation Bill (England), introduced, Feb. 9; passed, Aug. 13, 1836. |
| 1878 *Tithe dinner [see tithe-audit above]. |
| 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 217 These *tythe farmers are a bad set of people. |
| 1720 Lond. Gaz. No. 5829/3 An Estate.., well wooded, and *Tythe-free. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 29 Mar. 31/3 Gentleman's tithe-free residential farm. |
| 1591 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 66 Spente by the *tythe getherares, v{supd}. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 433 When the state..permits the cultivators to become the prey of a tythe-gatherer, or loads them with the support of the poor. |
| a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xlviii. 386 The Edecimation and *Tith-haling of their Goods. |
| 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. vi. xi. 636 This commutation..might..secure to the *tithe-holder a complete and perpetual equivalent for his interest. |
| 1895 Law Jrnl. Rep., Queen's Bench LXIV. 159/2 The late Master of the Rolls held that a *tithe-map was not evidence of boundaries between two adjoining owners. 1910 Edin. Rev. Jan. 119 The tithe-maps constructed on all sorts of scales. |
| 1647 Husbandm. Plea agst. Tithes 33 Calves, milk, lambe..and all other things that the *Tithe-mongers will have to be titheable. |
| 1805 Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 468 The *tithe-owner refused three guineas per acre for the tithe of the barley. |
| 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 315 Appointed for the Rendez-vous of Tithe-takers, and *Tithe-payers. 1878 Tithe-payer [see tithe-audit above]. |
| 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 185 In the matter of *Tithe-paying vnto the Priests of the Gospell. |
| 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iv. iv. (1876) 578 It is quite possible that *tithe-proprietors may be ultimately injured by this commutation. |
| 1657 J. Watts Vind. Ch. Eng. 157 Forced to pay the same unto *Tythe-publicanes and Tol-gatherers. |
| 1549 Chaloner Erasm. on Folly P iij, How warlyke..the good vicares can strive for theyr *tytheright. |
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 112 ¶7 The 'Squire has made all his Tenants Atheists and *Tithe-Stealers. |
| 1890 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 1 Mar. 2/4 The French-Canadians are beginning to rebel against the *tithe system, which, in the interest of the Catholic Church, takes a large portion of the farmers' products. |
| 1832 *Tithe-war [see tithe-campaign above]. 1979 V. Bogdanor Devolution v. 123 The ‘tithe war’, under which tithes were withheld. |
▪ II. † tithe, n.2 Obs. [OE. *tiᵹð fem., contr. t{iacu}ð (obl. case t{iacu}ðe):—OTeut. *tigiþ{amacacu}. Not known outside English.] A granting; a concession, boon.
bene-tiðe,
-tuðe: see
bene b.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xii. [xiv.] (1890) 196 Moniᵹ oðer uncymre hors..þæt wit meahton þearfum to tiᵹðe sellan. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 384 Fela wundra ᵹelumpon..ðurh ðæs Hælendes tiðe. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 201 Þat he..ȝife us bene tuðe. |
▪ III. † tithe, a.2 Obs. [OE. tiᵹþa, tīþa, -e, f. tiᵹð, tithe n.2] To whom a concession or grant is made; successful in prayer or beseeching.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxx. [xxix.] (1890) 372 Þæt he wæs from Dryhtne tiᵹða þære bene, ðe he bæd. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 22 Ealles þæs þe ᵹe biddað ᵹe beoð tiþa ᵹyf ᵹe ᵹelyfað. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 27 We muȝen mid one worde þese þrie þing bidden and ben bene tiðe. Ibid. 119 Þat þe fewe word þe we on ure bede seien be tuðe alle haleȝen. |
▪ IV. † tithe, v.1 Obs. Forms: 1
tiᵹþian,
tyᵹþian, 1–2
t{iacu}þian, 2
teiþian, 2–3
tiðen,
tuþen (ü), 3
tythe.
Pa. tense and
pple. (
north.) 4
tid(d,
tyd(e.
[OE. tiᵹþian (:—*tigiþójan), f. tiᵹð, tithe n.2] trans. To grant, concede, bestow.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. vi. xxxiv. §3 Þa oferhoᵹode he..þæt he him tiᵹþade. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xv. [xxi.] (1890) 220 Ne hine mon on oðre wisan his bene tyᵹþian wolde. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 108 Ic wæs nacod, nolde ᵹe me wæda tiðian. c 1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxi. 22 Eow beoð ᵹe-teiþað [v.r. ᵹetiðad]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 135 God haueð herd þine bede, and tiðed te bene. c 1200 Ormin 5365 Forr all þatt æfre ned uss iss All Godess Gast uss tiþeþþ. a 1225 St. Marher. 9 Nawt [ha] ne þohte þeron {thbar} hire nu were ituðet hire bone. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 207 Leafdi..tuðe me mine bone to þine eadi sune. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2474 Ac o þing icholde bidde þe ȝif þou me woldest tiþe. a 1300 Cursor M. 10966 (Cott.) Drightin has þe tid [Gött. tidd] þi bon. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 829 Þat god his askine had hyme tyde for þaim þat hyme worchyp dyde. |
Hence
† ˈtithing vbl. n., thing granted, reward.
| c 1275 Fragm. Song 7 in O.E. Misc. 101 Þat..he vs skere of þe tyþing þat sunfule schulle an-vnderfon. |
▪ V. tithe, v.2 (
taɪð)
Forms: α. 1
tio-,
teoᵹoðian,
teᵹðeᵹian,
tæᵹþiᵹan,
teiᵹðian,
teᵹði(ᵹ)an, 4
tiþe(n,
tyþe(n, 5
tyth, 6
tieth, 6–7
tith, 4–
tithe,
tythe. β. 1
téoði(ᵹ)an, 3
tēoþeȝen,
tēþeȝen,
theoþe, 4
teoþe, 4–5
tēþe,
tethe(n, 5
teothe,
teith(e,
teythe, 6
teethe.
[OE. teoᵹoðian, etc., f. teoᵹoða, téoða tenth, tithe n.1] gen. To take the tenth of, to decimate.
1. a. trans. To grant or pay one tenth of (one's goods, earnings, etc.),
esp. to the support of the church; to pay tithes on (one's goods, lands, etc.).
to tithe mint (and anise) and cummin (
Matt. xxiii. 23), to be conspicuously scrupulous in minutiæ while neglecting important matters of duty.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lvii. 439 ᵹe tioᵹoðiað eowre mintan & eowerne dile & eowerne kymen. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xi. 42 ᵹiæ teiᵹðas meric & cumela & ælc wyrt. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. ibid., ᵹe teᵹðiᵹas merece [etc.]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. ibid., ᵹe teoþiað. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxiii. 23 ᵹe þe tæᵹþiᵹaþ [Lindisf. ᵹeteᵹðeᵹes] mintæ & dile & cymen. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. ibid., ᵹe þe teoðiað [v.r. teoðiᵹað]. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 428 Ic teoðie ealle mine æhta. a 1225 Ancr. R. 28 Hwat se beo of oþer hwat vntreouliche iteoþeȝed. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5263 Þe king þer after..teþeȝede wel al is lond, as hii aȝte, wel ynou. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 898 Tyþeth weyl alle ȝoure þynges. 13.. Min. Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxvii. 528 Hose wol not tiþe þat god him haþ I-lent, His lyf and his soule boþe schul be schent. c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxxv, Þan shulde þe mayster of þe game begynne at one rowe..and tyth alle þe deere reght as þei ligge, rascayle and oþer, and delyuere it to þe procuratoures. 1562 Child-Marr. 138 The maner of tiething pigge and gose is, yf one have vij{supt}{suph}, to pay one. 1570 Levins Manip. 89/42 To Teethe, decimare. Ibid. 152/5 To Tythe. a 1641 Spelman Tythes xvi. (1647) 81 Military spoil, and the prey gotten in war is also tithable, for Abraham tithed it to Melchisedek. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Rye, 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 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. x. 265 Ethelwolf tithed the kingdom of England. 1879 Farrar St. Paul I. 63 Serio⁓comic questions as to whether in tithing the seed it was obligatory also to tithe the stalk. 1901 Dakyns tr. Xenophon's Anab. v. iii. §9. 141 Here with the sacred money he [Xenophon] built an altar and a temple, and ever after, year by year, tithed the fruits of the land in their season and did sacrifice to the goddess. |
b. With the tenth which is paid or delivered as the object: To pay or give as tithe. Also
gen., to pledge or contribute as a levy.
| 854 Grant by Adulf in Birch Cart. Sax. ii. 79 He teoðode ᵹynd eall his cyne rice ðone teoðan del ealra his landa. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 84 None tythes to tythen [v.r. tetheȝen]. c 1450 Cov. Myst. iii. (1841) 35, I tythe it [the lamb] to God of gret mercy. 1539 Bible (Great) Deut. xxvi. 12 When thou hast made an ende of tythinge all the tythes of thyne encrease. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 510 These slaves are either the sonnes of Christians, tithed in their childhoods, Captives taken in the warres, or Renegadoes. 1967 Observer 6 Aug. 4/5 A reply sent to a young member by the sect's letter-answering department was more precise: ‘A person working for wages is to tithe one-tenth of the total amount of his wages before income tax, national health, or other deductions are removed.’ 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. |
2. intr. To pay tithe; to pay the tenth,
esp. to the church. Revived in recent use in connection with voluntary church giving.
Cf. tithe n.1 1.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 215 Þe prest þe meneȝeð rihtliche teðien. c 1275 Sinners Beware 149 in O.E. Misc. 77 If he..theoþe ryht vnder his honde, To heouene he cume myhte. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 65 Laborers..þat treuliche..tiþen. 1375 Creation 482 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 130 Kaym..tyþede of þe worste þynge, And Abel of his beste. c 1450 Myrc Par. Pr. 349 They schule teythe welle & trewe. ? a 1500 Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) 439 To holy Church neuer Teithed I, for me thought that was lorne. 1530 Palsgr. 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. 1942 Esquire Sept. 174/2 They went to the Six Hickories church—tithed—and behaved themselves. 1968 N. Giovanni in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 23 He quit church after a couple of months, but he continued to tithe every month faithfully and never drank again. |
3. a. trans. To impose the payment of a tenth upon (a person, etc.); to exact tithe from.
| 1382 Wyclif Heb. vii. 9 Leeuy, that took tithis, is tithid. 1546 Bale Eng. Votaries i. (1560) 94 b, As he and his monkes wer able to geue no more mony they tithed them after this sorte. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Heb. vii. 9 Leui also, which receiued tithes, was tithed. 1647 Trapp Comm. Heb. vii. 6 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. 1843 Marryat M. Violet xlii. 348 The cost..has been defrayed by tithing the whole Mormon Church. Those who reside at N...have been obliged to work every tenth day in quarrying stone. |
b. To exact or collect one tenth from (goods or produce) by way of tithe; to take tithe of (goods).
| 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 62 The Monks, the Priors, and holy cloystred Nunnes, Are all in health,..Till I had tithde and tolde their holy hoords. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 24 When the parson or procter cometh to tythe his woolle. 1807–8 Syd. Smith Plymley's Lett. Wks. 1859 II. 136/2 No man who talks such nonsense, shall ever tithe the product of the earth. 1817 W. Selwyn 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. |
c. intr. To levy tithe
upon (in
quot. transf.).
| 1822 T. L. Peacock Maid Marian vi. 210 Those who tithe and toll upon them for their spiritual and temporal benefit. |
† 4. a. trans. To take every tenth thing or person from (the whole number); to take one tenth of (the whole); to divide into tenths.
Obs.| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 178 ᵹif we teoðiað þas ᵹearlican daᵹas, þonne beoð þær six and ðritiᵹ teoðing-daᵹas. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 705 Keeping alive..two principall persons, that they might be tithed with the souldiers... Every tenth man of the Normans they chose out by lot, to be executed. 1632 Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry v. i, But tithe our gallants,..and you will find, In every ten, one—peradventure two—That smell rank of the dancing-school or fiddle. a 1641 Spelman Hist. Sacrilege (1698) 67 Coming to a Desart of Sand, divers of them were constrained to tithe themselves, and eat the tenth Man. |
† b. spec. To reduce (a multitude) to one tenth of its numbers by keeping only every tenth man alive.
The instances all relate to the sacking of Canterbury by the Danes in 1011,
tithe rendering
decimare used with this unusual meaning; Higden's words are ‘Grex Christi decimatur, novem scilicet occisis et decimo reservato’.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 89 Þe folk of Crist was tiþed, þat is to seie, nyne slayn and þe tenþe i-kepte. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. cxcix. 206 The monkes of Seynt Augustynes abbey they tythed, that is to meane, they slewe .ix. by cruell turment, and y⊇ tenth they kepte alyue. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 170/2 They tithed the people after an inuerted order, slaieng all by nines through the whole multitude, and reserued the tenth. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. vi. Wks. 1851 V. 251 The multitude are tith'd, and every tenth only spar'd. |
† c. To reduce the number of (a body of soldiers, etc.) by putting to death one in every ten; also
rhet. to destroy a large proportion of;
= decimate v. 3, 4 b.
Obs.| 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 292 Then tithing again the said tith, he slue euerie tenth knight, and that by cruell torment. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. D iij b, The Thebane Legion..was first tithed, that is, every tenth man thereof was executed. 1614 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 Considerations 185 Whole Armies have bin tithed, putting each tenth man to death, for faults which have bin committed in them. |
† d. to tithe out: to take out by lot every tenth (person or thing).
Obs.| 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. Ded. 1 Irefull Cambyses..caused euery tenth man to be tithed out for foode. Ibid. 759 The Emperour would tithe them out, and put euerie tenth man..to death. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage v. iii. 391 Which Armie..he [the Kyng] tythed out of his people, taking one onely of tenne. |
† e. To form the tenth part of (anything).
Obs.| 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. i. v. (1612) 18 Her sorrowes did not tith her ioy. |
Hence
ˈtithing ppl. a.| 1965 M. J. C. Calley God's People ix. 111 Everybody [in the congregation]..gives generously, probably more than the tenth required by tithing sects. |