tithing

A farmer pays his tithing with a portion of his grain harvest.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A system of taxation: "tithing" refers to the practice or institution of collecting a tenth part of something, typically income or produce, as a tax or offering, especially for religious or governmental purposes.
   • A historical administrative unit: In early English history, a "tithing" was a group of ten households bound together for mutual responsibility and law enforcement (part of the frankpledge system).

Usage Examples

• As a system of taxation:
  • The church relied on tithing to fund its operations and support the poor. (The church collected ten percent of people's earnings as a mandatory donation.)
• As a historical administrative unit:
  • Each tithing was responsible for the good behavior of its members under the frankpledge system. (A group of ten households was collectively accountable for the actions of those within it.)

Advanced Usage

• "to enforce tithing": to compel the payment of a tenth of income or produce.

  • The medieval king enforced tithing to finance his military campaigns. (The king required a tenth of harvests or earnings to be paid as a tax.)

• "tithing records": documents that track the collection of tithes.

  • Historians study tithing records to understand medieval economic life. (These documents show how much was collected from each community.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tithe (n/v): the tenth part itself, or the act of giving a tenth.
  • He paid his tithe to the church every year. (He gave one-tenth of his income as a religious offering.)
• Tither (n): a person who pays or collects tithes.
  • The tither was required to bring a tenth of his grain to the granary. (The person who owed the tithe had to deliver it.)
• Tithable (adj): subject to tithing.
  • All agricultural produce was tithable under the old law. (Everything grown on farms had a tenth owed as tax.)

Synonyms

• Tithe collection: the process of gathering a tenth.
• Decimation (archaic): the taking of a tenth, though now more commonly refers to destruction of a tenth in military punishment.
• Church tax: a modern equivalent for religious tithing.

Phrasal Verbs

• Tithe out: to distribute or allocate a tenth portion.
  • The farmer tithed out a tenth of his harvest to the monastery. (He set aside and gave the tenth part.)

Related Idioms

• Pay one's tithes: to fulfill a religious or moral obligation of giving a tenth.

  • She always pays her tithes faithfully every Sunday. (She consistently gives ten percent of her income to her church.)

• A tenth of the land: an idiomatic reference to the amount subject to tithing.

  • The king demanded a tenth of the land's produce as tithing. (The ruler required one-tenth of agricultural output.)