tithing, tething

& a. [A. S. teóthung.] (TITHE, 8.] A. As substantive: *1. A tithe, a tenth. "Ther tithing and ther offring bot he Thy clemith by po e ion." Chaucer (?): Plowman' Tale. †2. The act of taking or levying tithes. "When I come to the tithing of them, I will tithe them one with another, and will make an Irish man the tithing man." Spenser: State of Ireland. 3. A decennary; a number or company of ten householders, who, dwelling near each other, were sureties or free pledges to the king for the good behavior of each other. The institution has long ceased, but the name and division are still retained in many parts of England. "The civil division of the territory of England is into counties, of those counties into hundreds, of those hundreds into tithings or towns."-Black stone: Comment., bk. ii., ch. 3. B. As adj.: Pertaining or relating to the payment or levying of tithes. "An elaborate tithing system prevails throughout the territory of Utah."-London Daily Telegraph.