pittance

Name: pittance, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈpɪtəns/

//ˈpɪtəns// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“pittance” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,698. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,698
frequency rank, English: 46,516
“P” headwords: 11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small allowance of food and drink; a scanty meal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pittance · pittance · English

pittance · rank #46,698 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #46,698
LEN-LONG 8 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-MID 11 variants
BOOK-DENSE 46,516
PHOTO-FINISH pithy

Nearest frequency peer: pithy (-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.

phonics

53,308
physiologic…

53,306
pithy

53,304
pittance

53,303
placental

53,302
plop

53,299

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

Key facts for pittance
Property	Value
Headword	pittance
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈpɪtəns/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#46,698
Misspellings tracked	11
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pittance” 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). pittance lands here:

#46,698

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around pittance (IPA /ˈpɪtəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,698 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pittance, with forms such as "ipttance", "pitance", and "pitatnce". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pitaunce, from Old French pitance, pitence, from Medieval Latin *pietāntia, from Latin pietās (“piety”). The correct English form is pittance, spelled P-I-T-T-A-N-C-E.

Definition

1
A small allowance of food and drink; a scanty meal.
2
A meagre allowance of money or wages.
3
A small amount.

Etymology

From Middle English pitaunce, from Old French pitance, pitence, from Medieval Latin *pietāntia, from Latin pietās (“piety”).

This word in other languages

miseria(Español)pitance(Français)Hungerlohn(Deutsch)mixaria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ipttance
pitance
pitatnce
pittacne
pittancce
pittanec
pittannce
pittence
pittnace
ppittance
ptitance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pittance - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "pittance"

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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pittance"?

"pittance" is spelled P-I-T-T-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪtəns/.

What does "pittance" mean?

As a noun, "pittance" means: A small allowance of food and drink; a scanty meal.

What are common misspellings of "pittance"?

Common misspellings include "ipttance", "pitance", "pitatnce", "pittacne", "pittancce". The correct spelling is "pittance".

How do you pronounce "pittance"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pittance" is /ˈpɪtəns/. 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 "pittance"?

From Middle English pitaunce, from Old French pitance, pitence, from Medieval Latin *pietāntia, from Latin pietās (“piety”). 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 "pittance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

prancing#46,705 prowling#46,709 pullover#46,713 palatial#46,676

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

phonics11 variants overridden11 variants notional11 variants shunning11 variants

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.