1. (n.) The soft spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees, especially those of the dicotyledonous or exogenous classes. It consists of cellular tissue.

2. (n.) The spongy interior substance of a feather.

3. (n.) The spinal cord; the marrow.

4. (n.) Hence: The which contains the strength of life; the vital or essential part; concentrated force; vigor; strength; importance; as, the speech lacked pith.

5. (v. t.) To destroy the central nervous system of (an animal, as a frog), as by passing a stout wire or needle up and down the vertebral canal.

affective meaning axiom axis backbone bearing bench mark bottom burden butter cardinal point cataplasm center center of action center of gravity centroid centrum chief thing chutzpah climax coloring connotation consequence core cornerstone courage crisis critical point crush crux dead center denotation dental pulp depth distillate distillation drift effect elixir epicenter essence essential essential matter essentiality extension fabric flower focal point focus force fulcrum fundamental gameness gist grammatical meaning gravamen gravity great point grit guts gutsiness guttiness heart heart of oak high point hub hypostasis idea impact implication import importance important thing inner essence intension intestinal fortitude issue kernel keystone landmark lexical meaning literal meaning magnitude main point main thing marrow mash material material point matter meaning meaningfulness meat medium medulla metacenter mettle mettlesomeness middle milestone moment momentousness moxie mush nave navel nerve nub nucleus nuts and bolts omphalos overtone paper pulp paste pertinence pivot plaster pluck pluckiness point porridge postulate poultice practical consequence principle pudding pulp pulp lead pulpwood purport quick quid quiddity quintessence quintessential rag pulp range of meaning real issue real meaning recap recapitulation reference referent relation relevance resume rock bottom root run-through rundown salient point sap sauce scope semantic cluster semantic field sense short significance signification significatum signifie sine qua non smash soul span of meaning spirit sponge spunk spunkiness squash stamina storm center stout heart structural meaning stuff substance substantive point sulfate pulp sulfite pulp sum sum and substance summary summation symbolic meaning tenor the bottom line the nitty-gritty the point thrust totality of associations toughness transferred meaning true grit turning point umbilicus unadorned meaning undertone upshot value virtuality weight weightiness white lead wood pulp