noun
pittance
PIT-uhns/ˈpɪtns/
A very small or inadequate amount, especially of money.
The worker stares unhappily at the pittance in his palm.
Etymology
Old French pitance could name a food allowance provided by a pious bequest. The sense of a scant portion broadened to a small quantity, giving the modern sense of an inadequate sum of money.
In context
only a small pittance is reserved for their support and the poor ones are maintained at the public charge
More examples
- The pension was a pittance compared with the rent.
- He sold the valuable chair for a pittance.
- The workers could barely survive on that pittance.
Forms
pittance · pittances