stain
Etymology
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Etymology
From Middle English steinen, steynen, of gmq origin, from Old Norse steina, from steinn, from gmq-pro ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂-.
Replaced native Middle English wem (“spot, blemish, stain”) from Old English wem (“spot, stain”).
In some senses, influenced by unrelated Middle English disteynen (“to discolor, remove the colour from"; literally, "de-colour”), from Anglo-Norman desteindre (“to remove the colour from, bleach”), from Old French destaindre (“to remove the color from, bleach”), from des- ("dis-, de-, un-") + teindre ("to dye"), from Latin tingo.
Pronunciation- IPA: /steɪn/
stain (plural stains)
- A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances.
- A blemish on one's character or reputation.
- A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it.
- A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.
- (heraldry) One of a number of non-standard tinctures used chiefly in post-medieval heraldry, especially tenné, murrey, or sanguine.
- French: tache
- German: Fleck
- Italian: macchia, chiazza, patacca (figuratively)
- Portuguese: nódoa, mancha, mácula
- Russian: пятно́
- Spanish: mancha, lamparón (colloquial; on clothing - esp. from sweat or grease), rodal, mácula
- French: souillure
- German: Schandfleck
- Russian: пятно́
- Spanish: tacha, mancilla
- French: colorant
- Italian: tinta, mordente
- Portuguese: colorante, tinta
- Russian: кра́ска
- Spanish: colorante
- Spanish: contraste
stain (stains, present participle staining; simple past and past participle stained)
- (transitive) To discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
- to stain the hand with dye
- armour stained with blood
- To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
- of Honour void,
Of Innocence, of Faith, of Puritie,
Our wonted Ornaments now soild and staind
- To coat a surface with a stain
- to stain wood with acids, coloured washes, paint rubbed in, etc.
- the stained glass used for church windows
- (intransitive) To become stained; to take a stain.
- (transitive, cytology, histology) To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
- To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
- c. 1607–1611, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Cupid's Revenge”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC ↗, Act II, scene ii:
- She stains the ripest virgins of her age.
- 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], Daphnaïda. An Elegy upon the Death of the Noble and Vertuous Douglas Howard,Daughter and Heire of Henry Lord Howard, Viscount Byndon, and Wife of Arthure Gorges Esquier. […], London: […] [Thomas Orwin] for William Ponsonby, […], →OCLC ↗:
- that did all other beasts in beauty stain
- German: beizen
- Italian: mordenzare
- Russian: кра́сить
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
