What does pittance mean?
A pittance is a very small, meager, or inadequate amount of something, especially food, money, or another resource. It is usually used in the phrase “a pittance of,” where it conveys not merely smallness but a sense of inadequacy, poverty, or grudging provision. The word often appears in formal or literary prose, although its sharply dismissive tone makes it effective in criticism as well as description. Once used for an allowance of food given to a monk, “pittance” now survives mainly as a vivid word for a token ration or an insufficient sum. Someone receiving only a pittance receives less than would be expected or adequate, and the expression can imply that the giver is stingy or the circumstances are harsh. Though relatively uncommon in everyday speech, it remains useful because it combines quantitative scarcity with disapproval of the insufficiency.
nounA very small or meager amount or allowance, especially of food, money, or another resource.
- A small, meager, or inadequate amount or allowance of something, especially food, money, or resources.
"The charity could offer the flood victims only a pittance of food and money."
"After the negotiations, the workers were left with a pittance of what they had been promised."
"She subsisted on a pittance of bread and weak tea."
A countable noun, usually used with “a” in the singular construction “a pittance of” or in the plural when referring to several inadequate allowances.
"The employees received pittances too small to support them."
A pittance once meant a monk’s allowance of food; today it can shrink the same meal to scraps.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pittance come from?
The word entered Middle English in the 14th century from Old French pitance, originally denoting an allowance, especially of food given to a monk. Old French pitance came through Medieval Latin pitancia from Latin pietas, meaning kindness, pity, or compassion. Related English words include pity, piety, pious, and impious, all associated with the same Latin family.
How pittance is actually used
Chiefly literary, formal, or somewhat dated. It often suggests inadequacy and may carry a critical or contemptuous implication that the amount given is stingy or undeserved.
Easily confused with pittance
A pittance is a small or insufficient allowance, whereas patience is the ability to endure delay or provocation calmly.