stain
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (4)stains, stained, staining
- color with a liquid dye or tint“Stain this table a beautiful walnut color”“people knew how to stain glass a beautiful blue in the middle ages”More general dyeMore specific vein, dip, tattoo, marble, ebonize
- produce or leave stains“Red wine stains the table cloth”More general change, alterMore specific smutSimilar spot, fleck
- make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically“The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air”“Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man”Synonyms: tarnishmaculatesullydefileMore general spot, fleckMore specific darken
- color for microscopic study“The laboratory worker dyed the specimen”Synonyms: dyeMore general dye
Noun (5)stains
- a soiled or discolored appearance“the wine left a dark stain”Synonyms: discolorationdiscolourationType of appearance, visual aspectKinds oil stain, tarnish, bloodstain, mud stain, scorch, iron mold
- (microscopy) a dye or other coloring material that is used in microscopy to make structures visibleType of coloring material, colouring materialKinds counterstain, methylene blue, gentian violet
- anything regarded as making something uncleanSynonyms: dirtfilthgrimesoilgreasegrungeType of dirtiness, uncleanness
- a symbol of disgrace or infamy“And the Lord set a mark upon Cain — The Bible, Genesis 4:15”Synonyms: markstigmabrandType of symbolKinds bar sinister, demerit, cloven hoof
- an act that brings discredit to the person who does it“he made a huge blot on his copybook”Synonyms: blotsmearsmirchspotType of mistake, error
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: Abbrev. fr. distain.
1. To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood.
2. To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processes affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain glass.
3. To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish.
Of honor void, Of innocence, of faith, of purity, Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.— John Milton
4. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
She stains the ripest virgins of her age.— Francis, & Fletcher, John. Beaumont
That did all other beasts in beauty stain.— Edmund Spenser
Stained glass, glass colored or stained by certain metallic pigments fused into its substance, — often used for making ornamental windows.
Synonyms: To paint; dye; blot; soil; sully; discolor; disgrace; taint. — Paint, Stain, Dye. These denote three different processes; the first mechanical, the other two, chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is to spread a coat of coloring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is to impart color to its substance. To stain is said chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one, commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the other more complex, as fixing colors by mordants.
To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.
1. A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot; as, a stain on a garment or cloth. William Shakespeare
2. A natural spot of a color different from the ground.
Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains.— Alexander Pope
3. Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach.
Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains.— John Dryden
Our opinion... is, I trust, without any blemish or stain of heresy.— Richard Hooker
4. Cause of reproach; shame. Sir Philip Sidney
5. A tincture; a tinge. rare
You have some stain of soldier in you.— William Shakespeare
Synonyms: Blot; spot; taint; pollution; blemish; tarnish; color; disgrace; infamy; shame.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54