pittance

a very small payment or wage

TRANSLATION

der Hungerlohn, milde Gabe

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

"Station Commander Danny Ricketts explained his reasons for joining the industrial action: "I'm on strike to support my colleagues," he said, "particularly my younger colleagues who can't afford to live in the area that they work.

"They're having to travel in a lot of miles and they're paid a PITTANCE. All we're striking for is to get fair pay for the future."

(BBC News - Feb. 20th 2002)

Did you
know?

Did you know?
            
pittance

1. A meager monetary allowance, wage, or remuneration.

2. A very small amount


Origin: Middle English pitance, from Old French, allowance of food to a monk or poor person, from Medieval Latin pietantia, from *pietns, *pietant- present participle of *pietre, to show compassion, from Latin piets, piety.


Synonyms:

chicken feed, dribble, driblet, drop, inadequacy, insufficiency, mite, modicum, peanuts, portion, ration, scrap, slave wages, smidgen, trace, trifle

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