widow's mite
1
8.6
- noun
- /ˈwɪdoʊz maɪt/
- The charity valued every widow's mite it received from the community.
Examples
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Although he had very little, he offered his widow's mite to support the cause.
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Even a widow's mite can make a significant difference when given with love and generosity.
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Even her widow's mite was appreciated in the fundraising effort.
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Her donation was a true widow's mite.
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Many people consider a widow's mite to be more valuable than a large gift.
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Despite their limited income, they donated their widow's mite to support the local food bank.
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Her contribution, though small, was a true widow's mite that helped provide warm meals to many in need.
How Large
Surface Forms
Morphology
widow's + mite
The literal parts ('widow' = a woman who has lost her spouse; 'mite' = a very small amount) point toward a small contribution by a poor person, so a learner could guess the general sense. However, the full idiomatic nuance — that the gift is small yet morally significant (from the Biblical story) — depends on cultural knowledge and is not fully predictable from the words alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Widow's mite comes from a Bible story about a poor widow who put two tiny coins called a mite into the offering box and was praised for giving everything she had. So, Widow's mite now means 'a very small but meaningful contribution' from someone with little to give.