Definition of "tithing" [tith•ing]

• An administrative division consisting of ten householders in the old English system of frankpledge. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "When our tithing is about buying nicer pews and brand new song books and a more elaborate lighting system – all while the world starves to death!"
• "The principle of tithing is starting to develop and some of those funds are starting to be used for area migrant worker outreach or orphanages, but this seems to be in early stages."
• "Jackson Lears would add another explanation: tithing is like the moment the gambler lays his money down on the table — it “promises at least a fleeting opportunity to contact a realm where hope is alive,” he writes."