| 单词 | pittance |
| 释义 | pittance (once / 4770 pages) n A pittance is a tiny payment or small reimbursement for work — generally an amount that's inadequate. The restaurant may pay you a pittance, but you can do well if you get a lot of good tips. The word pittance came into English from the Old French word pitance, meaning “allowance of food to a monk or poor person,” which in turn came from the Latin word pietas, meaning “pity.” Although a pittance may have originally meant that you were taking pity on someone with less wealth by giving them money or food, these days when you get a pittance it means that you earn a pitiful wage. WORD FAMILYpittance: pittances USAGE EXAMPLESMost child-care workers get little training and are paid a pittance. Economist(Oct 27, 2016) Poets are given vast fees by international conglomerates for their latest eclogues, while screenwriters live in poverty, paid a pittance for their largely ignored outpourings. The Guardian(Dec 01, 2016) But for an elected official benefiting from ill-gotten gains, that’s a pittance. Washington Times(Nov 23, 2016) n an inadequate payment they work all day for a mere pittance Hyper payment a sum of money paid or a claim discharged |
| 随便看 |
英语词典包含147318条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。