tithe-pig
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun One pig out of ten, paid as a tithe or church-rate.
Examples
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You take them for tithe-pig parsons, when they are gentlemen of learning, and, like myself, graduates of Oxford.
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He is the tithe-pig of his family, which the gallows, instead of the parson, claims as its due.
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"Dick is a fool," said he; "but he ne'er begged benison of an abbot, a bone from a starved dog, or a tithe-pig from a parson."
Note
The 'tithe' of 'tithe-pig' comes from an Old English word meaning 'tenth'.
