different between pith vs pish

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English pith, pithe, from Old English piþa, from Proto-Germanic *piþô (compare West Frisian piid (“pulp, kernel”), Dutch peen (“carrot”), Low German Peddik (“pulp, core”)), from earlier *piþ? (oblique *pittan). Doublet of pit. The verb meaning "to kill by cutting or piercing the spinal cord" is attested 1805.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

pith (usually uncountable, plural piths)

1. (botany) The soft, spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees.
2. The spongy interior substance of a feather or horn.
3. (anatomy) The spinal cord; the marrow.
4. (botany) The albedo of a citrus fruit.
5. (figuratively) The essential or vital part; force; energy; importance.
   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 144]:

     The clothesline surrendered the pith of its soul, and Kathleen's stockings, hung at the wide end, now suggested lust.

6. (figuratively) Power, strength, might.

Synonyms

• (essential or necessary part): core, essence, general tenor, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance; See also Thesaurus:gist

Related terms

• pith helmet
• pithy
• pith and substance

Translations

Verb

pith (third-person singular simple present piths, present participle pithing, simple past and past participle pithed)

1. (transitive) To extract the pith from (a plant stem or tree).
2. (transitive) To kill (especially cattle or laboratory animals) by cutting or piercing the spinal cord.

Etymology 2

From pi (“number 3.14159...”) +? -th.

Alternative forms

• pi-th

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa??/

Adjective

pith (not comparable)

1. The ordinal form of the number pi.

Translations

Noun

pith (plural piths)

1. One divided by pi.

Translations

Anagrams

• phit

Middle English

Alternative forms

• pithe, piþ, piþþe, pyþe, peþe, pyth, pythe

Etymology

From Old English piþa, from Proto-Germanic *piþô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?(?)/, /?pið(?)/, /?pe??(?)/

Noun

pith (uncountable)

1. The soft interior portion of something, especially:
   1. (botany) pith (soft substance in the center of a plant's stem)
   2. The pulp (soft innards) of a fruit.
2. (figuratively) The essential or vital part; importance.
3. (figuratively) Power, strength, might.

Descendants

• English: pith
• Scots: pith

References

• “pith(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??/

Interjection

pish

1. Expressing disdain.

Synonyms

• pht, feh, meh, pooh, pshaw, bah, poh; see also Thesaurus:bah

Noun

pish (plural pishes)

1. A sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh") made by birders and ornithologists to attract small birds.

Verb

pish (third-person singular simple present pishes, present participle pishing, simple past and past participle pished)

1. To try to attract birds by making a sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh").
2. To express contempt.

Adjective

pish (comparative more pish, superlative most pish)

1. (vulgar, colloquial, chiefly Scotland) Of poor quality; very bad.

Usage notes

• Most commonly found in the gerund or present participle pishing.

References

• pish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Dunne, Peter (2006). The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls. ?ISBN.
• Langham, G. M.; Contreras, T. A. & Sieving, K. E. (2006). Why pishing works: Titmouse (Paridae) scolds elicit a generalized response in bird communities. Ecoscience 13 (4): 485–496. doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2006)13[485:WPWTPS]2.0.CO;2

Anagrams

• -ship, HIPs, hiPS, hips, phis, ship

Chinook Jargon

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English fish, or possibly French pêche.

Noun

pish

1. fish

Etymology 2

From Chinook opitshka.

Noun

pish

1. fire

Synonyms

• piah

Mohegan-Pequot

Alternative forms

• beesh (obsolete orthography)

Etymology

From English peas.

Noun

pish

1. peas

References

• A Vocabulary of Mohegan-Pequot (John D. Prince, Frank G. Speck)

Scots

Etymology

From late Middle English pyshe, variant of pisse.

Pronunciation

• enPR: p?sh, IPA^(key): /p??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

pish (uncountable)

1. (vulgar) Urine, piss.
2. (vulgar) Crust on a scabbing wound.

Verb

pish (third-person singular present pishes, present participle pishin, past pished, past participle pished)

1. To urinate, to piss.

Derived terms

• reekin o pish

Adjective

pish (comparative mair pish, superlative maist pish)

1. (vulgar) Not very good, in fact quite bad.

Interjection

pish

1. An expression of disdain.

References

• “pish” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Western Apache

Etymology

From English fish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [p????]

Noun

pish

1. fish