taint

taint
/taynt/, n.
1. a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.
2. a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.
3. a trace of dishonor or discredit.
4. Obs. color; tint.
v.t.
5. to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.
6. to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.
7. to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).
8. Obs. to color or tint.
v.i.
9. to become tainted; spoil.
[1325-75; conflation of ME taynt, aph. var. of attaint struck, attainted, ptp. of attainten to ATTAINT; late ME taynt hue, TINT < AF teint ( < L tinctus, equiv. to ting(ere) to dye, TINGE + -tus suffix of v. action); and teinte < LL tincta inked stroke, n. use of fem. of ptp. of tingere]
Syn. 1. defect, spot, flaw, fault. 1, 7. blemish, stain. 6. defile, pollute, poison.

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  • Taint — may refer to: *Spoilage or contamination *Cork taint, as in wine *Taint checking, a feature in some programming languages *US English slang for the perineum *Taint (band), a sludge metal band from the UK *Taint (legal), in reference to evidence… …   Wikipedia

  • taint — / tānt/ vt: to damage or destroy the validity of evidence taint ed by an illegal search taint n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Taint — Taint, v. t. [F. teint, p. p. of teindre to dye, tinge, fr. L. tingere, tinctum. See {Tinge}, and cf. {Tint}.] 1. To imbue or impregnate with something extraneous, especially with something odious, noxious, or poisonous; hence, to corrupt; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • taint´ed|ly — taint|ed «TAYN tihd», adjective. 1. affected with any taint; stained, tinged, contaminated, infected, corrupted, or depraved: »The death toll from tainted liquor in Spain rose to 22…and officials feared that it would go higher (New York Times). 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • taint|ed — «TAYN tihd», adjective. 1. affected with any taint; stained, tinged, contaminated, infected, corrupted, or depraved: »The death toll from tainted liquor in Spain rose to 22…and officials feared that it would go higher (New York Times). 2. Archaic …   Useful english dictionary

  • Taint — Taint, v. t. 1. To injure, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Do not fear; I have A staff to taint, and bravely. Massinger. [1913 Webster] 2. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taint — Taint, n. [Cf. F. atteinte a blow, bit, stroke. See {Attaint}.] 1. A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] This taint he followed with his sword drawn from a silver sheath. Chapman. [1913 Webster] 2. An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taint — Taint, v. i. 1. To be infected or corrupted; to be touched with something corrupting. [1913 Webster] I can not taint with fear. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To be affected with incipient putrefaction; as, meat soon taints in warm weather. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taint — Taint, n. 1. Tincture; hue; color; tinge. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. Infection; corruption; deprivation. [1913 Webster] He had inherited from his parents a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove. Macaulay. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taint — Taint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tainted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tainting}.] To thrust ineffectually with a lance. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taint — Taint, v. t. Aphetic form of {Attaint}. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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