tithe

n. [ OE. tithe, tethe, properly an adj., tenth, AS. teó&unr_;a the tenth; akin to tién, t&unr_;n, tēn, ten, G. zehnte, adj., tenth, n., a tithe, Icel. tīund the tenth; tithe, Goth. taíhunda tenth. See Ten, and cf. Tenth, Teind. ] 1. A tenth; the tenth part of anything; specifically, the tenthpart of the increase arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support, as in England, or devoted to religious or charitable uses. Almost all the tithes of England and Wales are commuted by law into rent charges. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil. Neh. xiii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Tithes are called personal when accuring from labor, art, trade, and navigation; predial, when issuing from the earth, as hay, wood, and fruit; and mixed, when accuring from beaste fed from the ground. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, a small part or proportion. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great tithes, tithes of corn, hay, and wood. --
Mixed tithes, tithes of wool, milk, pigs, etc. --
Small tithes, personal and mixed tithes. --
Tithe commissioner, one of a board of officers appointed by the government for arranging propositions for commuting, or compounding for, tithes. [ Eng. ] Simmonds. [ 1913 Webster ]