1. Soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants
   "The pith of the sunflower stem was white and spongy"
    
2. The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
   "the pith of the prosecutor's argument";
   - kernel, substance, core, center [US], centre [Brit, Cdn], essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, sum, nitty-gritty [informal]

1. Remove the pith from (a plant)
   "They pithed the oranges to make marmalade"

Derived forms: piths, pithed, pithing

Type of: cognitive content, content, get rid of, mental object, plant tissue, remove

Encyclopedia: Pith