Pith definition
The pith of your argument is controversial.
Matters of great pith.
An example of pith is the spongy material found inside plant stems.
The pith of my idea is truth.
Origin of pith
- Middle English from Old English pitha
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Old English piþa, from Proto-Germanic *piþan (compare West Frisian piid 'pulp, kernel', Dutch peen 'carrot', Low German Peddik 'pulp, core'), from earlier *piþō (oblique *pittan). Doublet of pit. The verb meaning "to kill by cutting or piercing the spinal cord" is attested 1805.
From Wiktionary