the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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Bible Encyclopedias
Pith
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or 'PITH (O.E.' pitha, cognate with Du. pit, kernel of a nut), properly the medulla, the central column of spongy cellular tissue, in the stems of dicotyledonous plants (see Plants: Anatomy). The word is thence applied to the spinal cord or marrow in animals, to the medullary end of a hair, and to that which forms the central part or core of any object or substance; hence, figuratively, vigour, energy, concentrated force. Very light hats or helmets are made of the dried pith of the Indian spongewood or hat plant (Aeschynomene aspera, the native name being Solah). These pith hats are worn by Europeans in India and the East. The Chinese Ricepaper-tree (Aralia or Fatsia papyrifera), from the pith of which the delicate white film known as "rice-paper" is made, is also known as the pith-plant.
These files are public domain.
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Pith'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/p/pith.html. 1910.
