[pith] n [ME, fr. OE pitha; akin to MD & MLG pit pith, pit] (bef. 12c) 1 a: a usu. continuous central strand of spongy tissue in the stems of most vascular plants that prob. functions chiefly in storage b: any of various loose spongy plant tissues that resemble true pith c: the soft or spongy interior of a part of the body
2. a: the essential part: core b: substantial quality (as of meaning)
3: importance
[2]pith vt (1805) 1 a: to kill (as cattle) by piercing or severing the spinal cord b: to destroy the spinal cord or central nervous system of (as a frog) usu. by passing a wire or needle up and down the vertebral canal
2: to remove the pith from (a plant stem)