tithe
tithe
UK[taɪð]US[taɪð]
n
A tenth part of something, especially a tenth part of a person's income or produce, paid as a tax or contribution to a religious organization.
v
To pay or give a tenth part of something, especially income, as a tax or contribution.
Etymology
The word 'tithe' originates from the Old English 'teogoþa' (or 'tēoþa'), meaning 'tenth'. This Old English term is a derivative of the Proto-Germanic 'tehun', meaning 'ten', which in turn descends from the Proto-Indo-European root 'dekm̥', the ultimate source for the number ten across many languages. The phonetic journey from 'teogoþa' to the Middle English 'tithe' involved significant simplification and sound changes. The core logic of the word has remained remarkably consistent for over a millennium: it directly and literally means 'a tenth', specifically institutionalized as a compulsory payment or offering of one-tenth of one's earnings or produce, primarily for the support of the church.
Analysis
The entire word 'tithe' functions as a single, unsegmentable morpheme in modern English. It is a loanword from Old English, where it was already a unified concept.
Examples
In medieval England, peasants were required to give a tithe of their grain to the local parish.
Some religious communities still tithe a portion of their income to support their church's work.
The historical records detailed the collection of tithes from the village's harvest.