pittance

noun

pit·​tance ˈpi-tᵊn(t)s 

: a small portion, amount, or allowance

also : a meager wage or remuneration

Did you know?

It's a pity when you haven't anything but a pittance. And in fact, pity and pittance share etymological roots. The Middle English word pittance came from Anglo-French pitance, meaning "pity" or "piety." Originally, a pittance was a gift or bequest to a religious community, or a small charitable gift. Ultimately, the word comes from the Latin pietas, meaning "piety" or "compassion." Our words pity and piety come from pietas as well.

Synonyms

• chicken feed [slang]
• chump change
• dime
• hay
• mite
• peanuts
• pin money
• shoestring
• song
• two cents

Examples of pittance in a Sentence

the internship offers only a pittance for a salary, but it is a great opportunity to gain experience

Recent Examples on the Web

His $75,000 signing bonus was a relative pittance compared to what top picks command. —Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2025

The amounts, however, are still a pittance compared to what is needed for equipment, weapons or to even replace the dozens of police stations that have been destroyed by gangs. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2025

In startup terms, this was a pittance. —D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

That’s a pittance compared to some streaming shows, which cost upwards of $20 million per hour. —Josef Adalian, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pitance, from Anglo-French, piety, pity, dole, portion, from Medieval Latin pietantia, from pietant-, pietans, present participle of pietari to be charitable, from Latin pietas piety — more at pity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pittance

• acquittance
• admittance
• emittance
• remittance
• transmittance

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Kids Definition

pittance

noun

pit·​tance ˈpit-ᵊn(t)s 

: a small portion, amount, or allowance especially of money