Etymograph

English

pittance

Pittance comes from Old French pitance, from Latin pietās ‘piety’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *pwījotāts.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pwījotāts1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpietās2‘piety’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500*pietāntia2reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pitance2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pitaunce2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838pittance2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pietas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pittance
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “In the very prime of life, Mr. Glentworth found…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pwījotātsWiktionary, Latin pietasreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpietāsWiktionary, English pittance‘piety’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500*pietāntiaWiktionary, English pittancereconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pitanceWiktionary, English pittance
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pitaunceWiktionary, English pittance
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838pittanceWiktionary, English pittance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “In the very prime of life, Mr. Glentworth found…”

Linked words

through Latin pietās ‘piety’

pity, piety, 1 more

Today it means

noun A small allowance of food and drink; a scanty meal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pittance”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pietas. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *pwījotāts / pittance

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