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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 07:00:01 -0800 (PST)
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Subject: pittance: M-W's Word of the Day
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Looking for a new kind of feeding frenzy? Feast on colorful
references in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions.
http://www.m-w.com/book/writref/allusion.htm
***************************************************************

The Word of the Day for January 9 is:

pittance   \PIH-tunss\   (noun)
     : a small portion, amount, or allowance; also : a meager
wage or remuneration

Example sentence:
     "She procured plain work; she plaited straw; and by various
means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support
life." (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, _Frankenstein_)

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 "pitance" came from the Old 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.

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