different between pith vs albedo

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English pith, pithe, from Old English piþa, from Proto-Germanic *piþô (compare West Frisian piid (“pulp, kernel”), Dutch peen (“carrot”), Low German Peddik (“pulp, core”)), from earlier *piþ? (oblique *pittan). Doublet of pit. The verb meaning "to kill by cutting or piercing the spinal cord" is attested 1805.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

pith (usually uncountable, plural piths)

1. (botany) The soft, spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees.
2. The spongy interior substance of a feather or horn.
3. (anatomy) The spinal cord; the marrow.
4. (botany) The albedo of a citrus fruit.
5. (figuratively) The essential or vital part; force; energy; importance.
   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 144]:

     The clothesline surrendered the pith of its soul, and Kathleen's stockings, hung at the wide end, now suggested lust.

6. (figuratively) Power, strength, might.

Synonyms

• (essential or necessary part): core, essence, general tenor, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance; See also Thesaurus:gist

Related terms

• pith helmet
• pithy
• pith and substance

Translations

Verb

pith (third-person singular simple present piths, present participle pithing, simple past and past participle pithed)

1. (transitive) To extract the pith from (a plant stem or tree).
2. (transitive) To kill (especially cattle or laboratory animals) by cutting or piercing the spinal cord.

Etymology 2

From pi (“number 3.14159...”) +? -th.

Alternative forms

• pi-th

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa??/

Adjective

pith (not comparable)

1. The ordinal form of the number pi.

Translations

Noun

pith (plural piths)

1. One divided by pi.

Translations

Anagrams

• phit

Middle English

Alternative forms

• pithe, piþ, piþþe, pyþe, peþe, pyth, pythe

Etymology

From Old English piþa, from Proto-Germanic *piþô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?(?)/, /?pið(?)/, /?pe??(?)/

Noun

pith (uncountable)

1. The soft interior portion of something, especially:
   1. (botany) pith (soft substance in the center of a plant's stem)
   2. The pulp (soft innards) of a fruit.
2. (figuratively) The essential or vital part; importance.
3. (figuratively) Power, strength, might.

Descendants

• English: pith
• Scots: pith

References

• “pith(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

English

Etymology

From Latin alb?d? (“whiteness”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /æl?bi.do?/
• Hyphenation: al?be?do

Noun

albedo (countable and uncountable, plural albedos or albedoes)

1. (physics, meteorology, astronomy, optics) The fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body, commonly expressed as a percentage.
2. (botany) The whitish inner portion of the rind of citrus fruits that is a source of pectin, commonly referred to as the pith.
3. (alchemy) One of the four major stages of the magnum opus, involving purification of the prima materia.

   Coordinate terms: nigredo, citrinitas, rubedo

Usage notes

Albedo is to be distinguished from reflectivity, which refers to one specific wavelength (monochromatic radiation).

Translations

Anagrams

• beload, doable

Esperanto

Etymology

Derived from Latin alb?d? (“whiteness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al?bedo/
• Hyphenation: al?be?do
• Rhymes: -edo

Noun

albedo (accusative singular albedon, plural albedoj, accusative plural albedojn)

1. (physics) albedo

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lbedo/, [??lbe?do?]
• Rhymes: -?lbedo
• Syllabification: al?be?do

Noun

albedo

1. albedo

Declension

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin alb?d?.

Noun

albedo f (invariable)

1. albedo (all senses)

Further reading

• albedo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Etymology

From alb(us) (“white”) +? -?d? (abstract noun suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /al?be?.do?/, [ä???be?d?o?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /al?be.do/, [?l?b??d??]

Noun

alb?d? f (genitive alb?dinis); third declension

1. (Late Latin) white (color)
2. (Late Latin) whiteness

   Synonyms: albit?d?, albor, album

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Related terms

Descendants

• Italian: albedine
• Spanish: albédine
• ? Catalan: albedo
• ? English: albedo
  • ? Japanese: ???? (arubedo)
• Esperanto: albedo
• ? French: albédo
  • ? Romanian: albedo
• ? German: Albedo
• ? Italian: albedo
• ? Polish: albedo
• ? Portuguese: albedo
• ? Russian: ???????? (al?bédo)
• ? Spanish: albedo

References

• albedo in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• albedo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alb?d? (“whiteness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al?b?.d?/

Noun

albedo n (indeclinable)

1. (physics, meteorology, astronomy, optics) albedo (fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body)
2. (botany) albedo (part of citrus fruit rind)

Derived terms

• (adjective) albedowy
• (noun) albedometr

Gallery

Further reading

• albedo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Noun

albedo m (plural albedos)

1. (physics, meteorology, astronomy) albedo (the fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body)

Romanian

Etymology

From French albédo

Noun

albedo n (uncountable)

1. albedo

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin alb?d?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al?bedo/, [al???e.ð?o]

Noun

albedo m (plural albedos)

1. (physics, meteorology, astronomy) albedo (the fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body)

Further reading

• “albedo” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.