pittance
noun /ˈpɪtns/
/ˈpɪtns/
[usually singular]- a very small amount of money that somebody receives, for example as a wage, and that is hardly enough to live on
微薄的工资；极少的报酬 - to pay somebody a pittance
付给某人菲薄的工资 - to work for a pittance
为一点小钱而工作 - She could barely survive on the pittance she received as a pension.
她靠微薄的养老金勉强度日。
词源Middle English: from Old French pitance, from medieval Latin pitantia, from Latin pietas ‘pity’. - to pay somebody a pittance