pith

/pɪθ/

//pɪθ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pith" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pith” is uncommon English (frequency #55,647 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,647
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pith · pith · English

pith · rank #55,647 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,647
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH plaintive

Nearest frequency peer: plaintive (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pith”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pith” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pith
PropertyValue
Headwordpith
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɪθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#55,647
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pith” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pith lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pith is uncommon English at frequency #55,647 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɪθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 13 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pith, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English pith, pithe (“soft interior; pith, pulp”) [and other forms], from Old English piþa [and other forms], from Proto-Germanic *piþô, from earlier *piþō (oblique *pittan); further etymology unknown. Doublet of pit (“seed o… The correct English form is pith, spelled P-I-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.
  2. 2
    The albedo (“whitish inner portion of the rind”) of a citrus fruit.
  3. 3
    Senses relating to humans and animals.
  4. 4
    Senses relating to humans and animals.
  5. 5
    Senses relating to humans and animals.
  6. 6
    Senses relating to humans and animals.
  7. 7
    The soft inner portion of a loaf of bread.
  8. 8
    The central or innermost part of something; the core, the heart.
  9. 9
    The essential or vital part of something; the essence.
  10. 10
    Physical power or strength; force, might.
  11. 11
    A quality of courage and endurance; backbone, mettle, spine.
  12. 12
    The energy, force, or power of speech or writing; specifically, such force or power due to conciseness; punch, punchiness.
  13. 13
    Chiefly in of (great) pith and moment: gravity, importance, substance, weight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pith appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This ſvveete ſmelling Reede is of a darke dun colour, full of ioints and knees eaſie to be broken into ſmall ſplinters, hollovv and full of a certaine vvhite pith, cobvveb vviſe, ſomevvhat gummie in eating, and hanging in the teeth, and of a ſharpe bitter taſte.
  2. Some make inciſion into the very Vine braunch, as farre as to the pith and marrovv vvithin (to divert the moiſture that feedeth the grape:) others lay the cluſters a drying upon tile-houſes: and all this is done vvith the grapes of the Vine Helvenaca.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pith, pithe (“soft interior; pith, pulp”) [and other forms], from Old English piþa [and other forms], from Proto-Germanic *piþô, from earlier *piþō (oblique *pittan); further etymology unknown. Doublet of pit (“seed or stone inside a fruit”). The verb Middle English pethen (“to give courage or strength”), derived from the noun pith (noun), did not survive into modern English. Cognates * Dutch peen (“carrot”) * Middle Low German peddek, peddik, piddek (“bone marrow; medulla; spinal cord; inner part of a horn or quill; (figurative) core, essence”) (the last spelling rare) (Low German Peddik (“core; pulp”)) * West Frisian piid (“pulp, kernel”)

This word in other languages

medula(Español)moelle(Français)Mark(Deutsch)medula(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pith"?
"pith" is spelled P-I-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /pɪθ/.
What does "pith" mean?
As a noun, "pith" means: The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.
How do you pronounce "pith"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pith" is /pɪθ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pith"?
The noun is derived from Middle English pith, pithe (“soft interior; pith, pulp”) [and other forms], from Old English piþa [and other forms], from Proto-Germanic *piþô, from earlier *piþō (oblique *pittan); further etymology unknown. Doublet of pi... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pith", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

poss#55,658noni#55,617Nass#55,612MPLS#55,604

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list